


Lovely In Theory

by universecharm



Series: Life On Mars [3]
Category: Final Space (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Domestic Fluff, M/M, Multi, Mutual Pining, Parenthood, Road Trips, Slow Burn, Trans Character, autistic gary goodspeed, like 16 years long slowburn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-13
Updated: 2018-11-19
Packaged: 2019-05-06 09:20:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 21,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14638824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/universecharm/pseuds/universecharm
Summary: Gary and Avocato living together and raising Little Cato, despite not having any idea what they're doing. Lovely in theory, messy in practice.Oh, but they're not together like THAT, of course. Just two guys, living together, sharing a bed, and raising their baby. The way two good friends do.





	1. mutual arrangement

Before they got a crib for Little Cato, Avocato had always insisted on sleeping on the couch with the baby curled up next to him. Gary figured it was a ‘parental protection instincts’ thing, and always let the two of them be, despite constantly trying to convince Avocato to take the king sized bed in his room and let Gary take the couch instead. Despite many, many attempts, Avocato could not be swayed, repeatedly sleeping on the couch instead of accepting Gary’s offer.

They’d managed to get a hand-me-down crib from Clarence for pretty cheap, and after Avocato thoroughly disinfected the thing, they had covered it in soft things so that it was usable. Little Cato loved it, and Gary insisted on ordering some little toys to make a mobile out of. Now, in Gary’s mind, there was just one last thing to settle.

“So, who gets the bed?”

Avocato groaned. “For the last time, Gary, _you_ get the bed. It’s fine, really.”

“No! You get to take the bed! You already have to deal with Little Cato all day, it’s only fair th-”

Avocato cut him off. “First of all, you go out of your way to act like you _don’t_ get up in the middle of the night to put him back to bed and let _me_ sleep. I know you’ve been doing that already, and it’s nice, but you don’t get to pretend I’m the one doing all the work here.”

Gary flushed a dull pink and scratched his shoulder. “Still, you deserve it! It’s alright, really! I can make breakfast easier that way, and-”

“Look, if you’re going to keep insisting then why don’t we just share the damn bed?”

Gary’s blush went from soft to blazing in an instant. Fighting through his sudden nervousness, he smiled, wringing his hands over and over and over while Avocato stared at him. “I- h- come- come again, now?”

“Why don’t we just,” Avocato held his hands out and then dropped them to his sides, “share the bed?”

Gary blinked. It made sense, but... “Okay.”

But what was going on inside his head was something more like a train crashing, or a dial up noise, or a train full of old computers crashing, and the train was also crashing because the sheer idea of that was making his heart pound out of his chest. Sleeping? In a bed? With Avocato? Sharing a bed? Together? The two of them? Absolutely unfathomable. Why?

…

Gary honestly didn’t know.

Despite his sudden moment of shock and anxiety, Avocato was there, walking down the hall to the bedroom and shooting a glance back at him. “You comin'?”

Gary shook off the dazed feeling and followed him down the hallway. They walked into the bedroom and Avocato sat on the edge of the bed. Gary froze up. This was really happening. Why did the idea of sleeping in the same bed as Avocato make him so _nervous_? It wasn’t anything particularly strange, and it wasn’t like he was uncomfortable with it, but the idea still made him dizzy.

Yeah, he figured, he was just being weird about it. He went into the bathroom and brushed his teeth, changed into his pajama shorts. He put on a tank top because while he normally slept without one, he wasn’t quite ready for the questions about the scars on his chest (which were healing very nicely, according to HUE).

He walked out and Avocato was sitting in the same spot, looking at his hands. He had taken his gloves off and set them on the bedside table. His hands were _white_ , Gary noticed, and he had little paw pads… Like a cat.

Gary carefully sat down next to him and their shoulders brushed. He was suddenly hyper-aware of that, unable to focus on anything else but the warmth seeping into him through Avocato.

“So… You get the right I’ll take the left…?” Gary said, looking up at Avocato. Avocato nodded, flopping backwards onto the bed. His spine popped as he relaxed and Gary winced, carefully patting his stomach. He covered his face and sighed.

“Yeah, that works,” he mumbled through his fingers, stretching out and pulling the blankets up around himself. Gary did the same, grabbing a pillow and wrapping his arms around it. He made an internal note to keep as far on his side of the bed as possible, not wanting to bother Avocato while he slept. Avocato kept to his side as well, both of them facing away from each other.

“Goodnight, Avocato.”

“G’night, Gary…”

They both drifted off into a dreamless, peaceful sleep.

* * *

 

Gary woke up slowly through the fog in his mind, the sunlight pouring in through the window like warm honey. He cuddled closer to his pillow and sighed, keeping his eyes closed as he slowly woke up. He felt something shift around him and he hummed, opening his eyes.

Oh.

Avocato was holding him.

Correction.

Avocato was _spooning_ him, one hand on Gary’s stomach (his shirt had ridden up at some point in the night so his hand was _touching_ his stomach) and one on his chest, his face pressed into the crook of Gary's neck. Gary shivered as Avocato pulled him closer, his legs resting on either side of Gary's hips.

Gary felt his heart pounding in his chest, worried the sheer frequency of it might wake Avocato up. Then he noticed-

Avocato was _purring_.

It was quiet, but it was there, and it made Gary never want to move again. He felt so comfortable, so safe in Avocato’s embrace. He could feel his claws softly pressing into his skin, and it felt nice, not hurting him at all. He figured he could wait a while longer, until Avocato was awake. He didn't want to ruin the moment, didn’t want to move from where he was.

Avocato shifted and adjusted his hands and Gary stifled a breathless laugh, squeezing his pillow. It felt really nice, having someone hold him, touch him, keep him warm. Why didn’t he ask Avocato to sleep with him ages ago?

Wait.

No.

 _Phrasing_.

He bit his lip and closed his eyes again, his mind still racing.

After a while he felt Avocato take a deep breath from behind him, hugging Gary tightly against his chest. Avocato paused a moment later, realizing what was going on. Gary rolled over to face him, humming softly.

“Mornin’ Avocaaaaato.”

Avocato blinked and shook his head, wrapping his arms around Gary’s chest again. Gary felt himself blush as a nearly silent squeak escaped his mouth, Avocato nuzzling his stomach. “No. Back to sleep. ‘S too early.”

Gary laughed, cautiously reaching down to touch the top of Avocato’s head. “Man, you are _reaaaallly_ clingy when you’re tired, huh?”

Avocato just hid his face more, pressing his head up into Gary’s hand. “Gary. Shut. _Up_.”

He just laughed again, actually petting him now. Avocato was _never_ like this, it was so rare and special and it filled Gary with a warm, bubbly feeling that he wanted to live in forever.

“Hey, Avocato,” he whispered, looking down at him.

“ _What._ ”

“I have to get _up_ so I can make us _breakfast._ ”

Avocato groaned and tugged him closer, pressing his nose into Gary’s stomach. “Starve, then.”

“Noooooooo!”

“ _Yessssssss..._ It’s too early, c'mon, man…”

Gary looked over at the clock, squinting. “Avocato, it’s already 9:47. If we don’t get Little Cato up now he’s gonna be awake all night,  _again_ …”

Avocato groaned again and Gary groaned back in the same tone, affectionately mocking him. They paused and then looked at each other. There was a beat of silence, then they both burst out laughing, Avocato still cuddling against Gary. He could _feel_ Avocato’s smile against him and it made him feel like he was made of clouds.

“If you let me get up, I’ll make you bacon like you like it…”

Avocato sighed and rolled over, letting Gary sit up and stretch. Avocato _definitely_ didn’t look a little longer than he should have when Gary pulled his arms up and yawned, looking back at him with a sleepy grin that _definitely_ didn’t give him butterflies. Gary got up and left Avocato there, in his pile of warm feelings and warm blankets, until Little Cato's whines and the smell of bacon fueled his willpower enough to let him get out of bed.

  
  
  



	2. Act Natural

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I love suffering and you all are going to suffer with me

Quinn started coming over a lot more often because Tribore couldn’t afford a car, and Quinn didn’t trust them alone with her car anymore ever since the… _incident,_ which neither she nor Tribore would elaborate on.

Every time she came over, Gary would spend the entire time looking at her with this dumb look on his face, going out of his way to look and act like, and Avocato thought this in the most polite way possible, a complete and total jackass.

Really it was baffling to him that Gary didn't get a fist to the jaw every time he tried to flirt with her- if he could even call that mess flirting.

It was all cheap pickup lines and winking and it was nowhere _near_ as charming as how he acted when he was being genuine. Not that Avocato found him charming.

Surely.

He knew Gary could do better than that, but at the same time, something felt… _Off_ about Quinn, and he couldn't place it. Maybe it was because she wanted to work for the Infinity Guard. Maybe it was that Little Cato didn’t care for her and got fussy whenever she tried to hold him. Maybe it was because she always got Gary's name wrong and made him feel bad when she was around and worse whenever she left.

(Maybe he missed having Gary's attention.)

But mostly it was that last thing- she made Gary feel bad and he was still pursuing her! It made no sense to Avocato, plus she was clearly not interested, like, at all. If they were friends already before Gary got it into his head that they were soulmates, it might be different, but he didn't know anything about her!

Tribore was another issue entirely. They always seemed to know something Avocato didn't. Whenever Avocato walked into the room they'd snap up and look between the three of them like they _knew_ something. Gary always brushed it off with a ‘ _duh’_ but Avocato never got a better explanation than that and it made him feel on edge whenever the two of them were around.

They were all five sitting around the coffee table, with Little Cato sitting underneath it playing with a little set of toys Tribore had gotten him. Gary was staring across the table at Quinn while Tribore scribbled away in their notebook, occasionally pausing to look up and pitch a few words into the conversation.

Gary had gotten progressively clingier as the days passed, but he had also gotten progressively more relaxed. Avocato hadn't meant for the whole… _Cuddling_ thing to be a nightly ritual, but somehow they still woke up every morning in a confusing puzzle of legs and arms and _closeness_ that made his heart pound for reasons he couldn't place.

But ever since it started, it only got worse. Avocato hesitated to say he liked it, but he did. Gary was careful with him, always worried about overstepping his boundaries. They always sat next to each other on the couch and Avocato would zone out and come back to realize Gary was holding his hand, leaning against him, their knees touching. And Little Cato practically already saw him as a second parent, crawling into his lap and pawing at his stomach and biting at his hands.

During one of the times when the five of them were all sitting together, Gary had decided to sit next to Quinn instead of him. It wasn't an issue at first, until the lack of warmth on the side Gary usually sat on started getting to him, making him irritable. It felt like something was _missing_ . Something was _wrong_.

Gary was hitting on Quinn again, and the feeling in his stomach felt like a sickness. He hated it. He hated seeing them like that, Gary practically throwing himself at her.

The conversation died down and Gary looked up at him. Their eyes met, and Avocato smiled, looking back at him as the warm feeling that he was missing filled his body.

Then, out of nowhere, Gary stood up and looked over at Tribore, jerkily nodding towards the kitchen. “Can I talk to you real quick about something? I just remembered I’ve been meaning to ask you something super important.”

Tribore slowly nodded and closed their notebook, following him into the kitchen and out of earshot.

Leaving Quinn and Avocato alone aside from Little Cato, curled up and sleeping on the couch cushion.

They made eye contact.

It felt like the air was getting thinner. Both of them locked in a staring contest that didn't seem to end.

Quinn pouted. “What's your _problem_?”

Avocato’s ears flattened down against his head. “Funny, I was about to ask you the exact same thing.”

She groaned and stood up, pacing for a moment before sitting back down, tapping her foot. “God, it's like when Gary leaves the room you go from ‘cool aloof badass guy’ to ‘everybody is a threat and needs to be treated as such’! It's ridiculous!”

“Maybe, princess, I just don't trust you. I don't need a reason for it,” he said, remarkably monotone.

She rolled her eyes. “ _Gary_ likes me.”

“No he doesn't. He thinks- he thinks that he's in _love_ with you. You said it yourself, he doesn't even know you!”

Quinn looked like she was about to say something, but she stopped, staring at him in dawning realization.

“You're jealous!”

Avocato froze up. “No,” he bit out with a bitter laugh. “I am not... _Jealous_. What do I have to be jealous of? His horrible flirting? I wouldn't wish that mess on my greatest enemy.”

She smiled, clearly proud of herself. “You’re jealous because he’s paying attention to _me_ and not you. You- you think you deserve his attention more!”

His face was flushing and he knew it. If he was backed in a corner he had no choice but to fight.

“I _do_ deserve his attention more. You don't even like him!”

She snapped her fingers and pointed at him. “And you… More than like him?”

Fighting didn't work.

So.

He simply stood up and walked away, carrying Little Cato with him. Away from Quinn’s smug look and away from the _so what if I do_ he so badly wanted to scream back at her.

And so what if he did?

Did he… More than like Gary?

No. Definitely not. No. That'd be- that'd be ridiculous. He hardly _knew_ Gary! They'd only been living together for a few months- and Gary liked Quinn! Even if he _did_ feel like that, there was no point in trying. Gary was his best friend and nothing more. Nothing else could change that.

Besides, even if, hypothetically, Gary felt the same way, what would they _do_ about it? Start going on dates? Start- start _kissing_? Oh god, the sheer idea of that flooded his mind with fuzzy feelings and he stumbled, his whole face burning.

Oh god this was going to ruin his life. Quinn ruined his life because she put this idea into his mind. He's going to spend the rest of his life thinking about this and it's going to be awkward forever and-

No. No!

He wasn't going to do that. He was going to rationalize the problem and forget about it.

Gary was… Nice. He was the first nice person Avocato had met in a very, very long time. Yeah. Avocato- he was just… Latching onto the first person who was nice to him. Yeah.

His feelings wouldn't last more than a week. Then he would forget this whole stupid _incident_ ever happened.

That's whats gonna happen.

* * *

Gary paced back and forth. Now that the problem was at the front of his mind it felt like it was consuming his entire being, like vines growing in his chest and burrowing into his stomach.

Tribore pursed their lips and nodded, writing some things down on their notepad.

“How long ago did you realize it?”

Gary flapped his arms as he paced. “About- man, maybe 2 weeks ago? When we- when we started sharing a bed.”

“You're sharing a bed?”

“Not like _that_ just- I didn't want him to keep sleeping on the couch and he suggested we share it and- when I woke up we were cuddling and I got up to make breakfast and I realized hey, he would be a perfect boyfriend, and it all went downhill from there! I thought it was just a one time feeling but every time he looks at me it’s like putting me in an emotional blender!” He waved his arms as he talked, trying to shake the feelings away somehow.  

Tribore hummed and nodded again, tapping their pen against the side of their notebook. “ _Iiiiiiiinteresting_. Do you love him?”

Gary spluttered. “What are you talking- ‘ _do I love him’-_ of _course_ I love him! You're an empath, you know that more than anyone!”

Tribore shook their head. “You're _in_ love with him, but do you _love_ him?”

Gary blinked. “Aren’t those the same thing?”

They shook their head again.

“...I… I want him to be happy, y’know? I've- I literally have given an arm for his happiness.”

“Does he make you happy too?”

Gary just stared blankly out the window. “Does that matter?”

“Yes, it does. If he doesn't make you happy, what's the point in loving him?”

He sighed and sat on the kitchen counter, rubbing his eyes. “He makes me feel… Wanted. Like I'm… Like I’m _worth_ something.”

He chose each word carefully, trying to make the jumble of feelings into something that made sense. He opened his eyes again and made grabby hands at Tribore. “I can just… Show you.”

Tribore nodded with a grin and walked over, lacing their fingers together and closing their eyes.

Images of Gary and Avocato shopping together, laughing, warm feelings, admiration, appreciation, _love love love love love_ , all flooded their system at once, alongside a rush of anxiety. It didn't take them long to pull back, nodding, recovering from the high of emotions they felt pouring into them like an electric current. They nodded. “As a professional in both feelings and romance, I think you _do_ love him.”

Gary kicked the cabinet. “Crap. What about Quinn?”

“What about her?”

“I love her too,” he whispered. He looked… Afraid. Worried. Nervous.

“Then just see how things go.”

Gary looked up and sighed. “I'll… I'll try. I don't think I'm really in love with Avocato, though, I get crushes a lot… I'm sure that I'll feel normal again in like, a week, tops.”

Tribore shrugged and patted his back, feeling the uncertainty practically dripping off of him. They shook their head. “Whatever you say.”

* * *

Quinn knocked on the wall and looked into the room, still a little nervous. “Avocato…?”

Avocato looked up from Little Cato, all but glaring at her from the bed. “What?”

She shifted and leaned in the doorway. “I'm… Sorry for being… Insensitive. Back there.”

Avocato didn't move, or react. She continued.

“I'm not gonna say anything to Gary. Or anyone. Your secret is safe with me.”

“I don't know what you're talking about, Quinn.”

She tapped her foot. “Alright. Buuuut-”

“No.”

“You didn't even hear what I was trying to-”

“If it has anything to do with you playing matchmaker, I don't care!” He said, leaning his head back. “Gary doesn't, and never will feel like… _That_ about me. And I,” he paused, taking a deep breath, “don’t feel that way about him either. We're friends, and that's it.”

Quinn opened her mouth to say something but Tribore called her name from the living room. She sighed and took out a sticky note from her bag, scribbling something out on it and handing it to him. “Text me if you wanna hear my advice in full. See ya.”

And she left.

And Avocato stared at the number.

He groaned as he got his phone out and made a new contact, just in case.

* * *

Gary’s mantra for the day was _act natural act natural_.

But as the sun was setting and the inevitable time of sleeping came crawling closer, he felt his anxiety slowly chipping away at his resolve.

Then the next thing he knew, Little Cato was asleep, and Avocato was taking his gloves and boots off, and Gary was in the bathroom changing clothes as well. He stared at himself in the mirror, then back down at the tank top in his hands.

_If I'm thinking about coming out to him I can't be thinking about confessing my love for him, right?_

_That makes sense._

So Gary left the tank top on the counter.

He looked back at the mirror and ran his fingertips along the scars on his chest, thankful that scars is all that they were anymore. They were absolutely long since healed enough to be touched without hurting, so he had no reason to not go through with this.

He took a deep breath and opened the door, leaning on it with his forearm. Avocato was sitting in bed, already under the blankets, looking up at him. His expression went from blankly tired to something else entirely that Gary didn't know how to explain. He just shook the fear off and walked over, crawling across Avocato’s lap, and slid under the blankets.

“Goodnight, Avocato.”

Avocato didn't answer, because he was currently trying to clear his head of the thought of waking up to Gary, shirtless, curled up in his arms, which was without a doubt exactly what he would be waking up to. He pushed down the butterflies. He ignored the feelings. He rolled over and pulled Gary close because he was cold, and he wanted to warm up.

“G’night, Gary…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heehee Pining Hurts Dont It


	3. Without The Benefits

Gary really, really wanted to say that he had moved on from his silly little crush on Avocato, well…

 _Well…_ he'd be telling the truth! He had moved on from having a crush on Avocato.

It had, uh…

It had gotten so, so much _worse_ than a little crush.

The serious stuff had really started when he woke up after going to bed without his tank top on for the first time. It had been a Sunday night.

Avocato hadn’t asked any questions about his scars, but when he woke up, Avocato wasn’t in bed with him anymore. The bed was cold, even. He took a deep breath and splayed his body across the mattress. Dozens of worst-case-scenario ideas filled his head.

What if Avocato had just… left? What if he overstepped a boundary without knowing? Was Avocato upset with him?

He sat upright and looked around to see the bedroom door was cracked open slightly, and there was sound coming in from the hallway that registered as Avocato’s voice mixed with the TV being turned on. He sighed in relief. He walked into the bathroom first, combing his hair back and looking at the tank top from the night before. He bit his bottom lip and grabbed it, slipping it over his head.

He was cold. That’s it. He was just…

Cold.

He waited until he heard Little Cato waking up before he got out of bed. Avocato had made toast for him and was feeding Little Cato at the kitchen table. He looked… Exhausted. Gary made him some coffee and they spent the day watching kids shows with Little Cato.

At about noon, Gary got up and went into the backyard, motioning for Avocato to follow. They sat on the porch, Little Cato in Gary's lap, the butterflies that were steadily making themselves present drifting from plant to plant. At one point a butterfly had landed on Little Cato’s hand and Gary had damn near cried over it.

The next day was the same, but he went to bed with the shirt on again. Avocato still got up early and still didn't have the same spark as usual, but he was getting better. He smiled at Gary when he came out into the living room and Gary felt light as air. He wondered what had happened, but he didn't want to pressure Avocato into revealing anything.

Then, Wednesday, something changed.

He woke up alone again. He got dressed.

He headed out into the hallway and the smell of sweet home cooking hit him like a brick, and there Avocato was, fur still ruffled from sleep, wearing a messy apron over his t-shirt and standing in a beam of sunlight like some kind of ethereal greek god you could put on the cover of a cheesy romance novella, not a scene from his own kitchen.

He was beautiful.

Gary was feeling faint. Needless to say, that shocker warmed him right up.

Avocato turned to face Gary and smiled at him, tilting his head a bit and taking a drink from his coffee mug. It was actually Gary's mug, and it had a moustache on the bottom so when you drank out of it it looked like you had a moustache.

Gary snorted and fully stepped into the room, immersing himself in the atmosphere as if he was stepping into another dimension. He hopped up on the counter and Avocato opened the oven, taking out a tray of-

“Oh my _God_ are those blueberry muffins?! You made blueberry muffins?”

Avocato set them on the stovetop, his tail flicking. “I made muffins.”

Gary tilted his head back and sighed. “The universe is so good to me…”

“Hey,” Avocato playfully hit his shoulder as he took off his oven mitts and put them back in the drawer. “The universe didn't make you muffins _. I_ made you muffins.”

Gary rolled his eyes and opened and closed his hands at Avocato until he walked over, standing between Gary’s legs. Gary rested his chin on Avocato’s head and put his hands on his shoulders, rubbing gently. “Alright. _You're_ so good to me, _you_ made me muffins. Thank you...”

Avocato closed his eyes and let his arms wrap around Gary's waist, relaxing into the touches. “Thank me later by watching Little Cato while I go take care of some stuff…?”

Gary froze and looked down, his hand drifting from Avocato’s shoulder up to his cheek. He tilted his head up and leaned into his hand and… Wow. This was a- a new feeling. Gary was suddenly breathless because Avocato was looking up into his eyes with a small smile and he felt like he was falling down a tunnel and everything suddenly made _sense_.

He wanted to _kiss_ Avocato, and that was new.

“It’ll only take a few minutes. I'll be back before noon, while he takes a nap.”

Gary blinked, shaking off the feeling. “You… You trust me alone with Little Cato…?”

Avocato stiffened up for a moment and looked away, leaning into his hand more. His nose bumped against Gary’s palm and Gary felt his stomach flutter. “Yeah… Yeah, I do. I trust you with anything, Gary. It’s- you- you're… my best friend.”

Gary felt his heart skip a beat. He grinned and pulled Avocato closer, nuzzling the top of his head.

“Of course I'll watch him, man! You don't even have to ask that.”

Avocato leaned up against him and sighed, swaying a little bit. “Cool. I'm gonna head out in a few minutes. Don't eat all the muffins, alright?”

Gary scoffed and, on impulse, kissed Avocato’s forehead. Avocato laughed weakly and his ears twitched. He pulled back and looked up at Gary, smiling, a little dizzy. “I'm- I'm gonna… Yeah. See ya.”

And he grabbed his backpack and left.

Gary sat there on the counter watching dust motes float through the air, and he realized _that's what I want, always, forever._ He kissed Avocato and it was, simply, the most _right_ he had ever felt about anything in his entire life. It wasn't a kiss on the lips, but... He had felt so at home, so safe…

He wanted it to mean more, though.

He wanted Avocato to feel happy like that all the time. He wanted to be able to kiss Avocato whenever he wanted without feeling like he was doing something dangerous.

Oh, god.

Oh, _god_ , that's not good, is it?

And for the first time, looking at the steam curling off of the tray of muffins, he realized he was in love with Avocato.

He let out a breath and touched his hand to his chest in disbelief, leaning back and letting the acceptance of this fact wash over him. He was _in love_ with Avocato. His best friend. Who he lived with, and shared a bed with, and was practically raising a baby with.

Avocato who cooked for him and played with his hair when it was messy and held him when he got nightmares and who he was _in love with_ , why had he not _noticed_ that sooner?!

He mentally kicked himself and slid off the counter, wincing as he landed. He took a muffin and twisted it out of the tray. They were still warm, and Gary looked back on the counter and noticed something else.

Avocato had made coffee for him.

The same mug he used every day was sitting on the counter with a spoon in it, the pale brown color in the cup indicating that yes, yes, that was _his_ coffee.

Avocato drank his coffee dark with honey in it. Gary liked his overflowing with so much sugar and creamer it could hardly be classified as coffee anymore. Avocato knew that, and had made his coffee for him.

Somehow, that was the straw to break the camel's back, and Gary covered his face as he backed against the wall, sliding to the ground. He took his phone from the kitchen table and quickly texted Tribore.

He took a sip of the coffee and sighed. It was perfect.

He was _doomed_.

* * *

 

So, technically, he wasn’t _lying_ to Gary. He did have to take care of some stuff. 

That stuff just happened to be going to get brunch with his roommates crush. 

Avocato, surprisingly, had started texting Quinn on the daily once he had gotten her number. They got along quite nicely once they got to talking, falling into banter and joking back and forth like they'd been friends for years.

And since she already knew about his… Conflicting feelings about Gary, he could vent to her safely, knowing she wouldn't intervene or be mean to him about it. She was sensible and smart and he could really understand why Gary liked her so much.

They'd arranged to meet at a little diner about half a mile away from Gary's house so that Avocato could talk to her and take a break from watching Little Cato 24/7.

He hadn’t accounted for one thing, though.

Gary.

Gary _kissed him_ and it knocked the wind right out of him. It was just a _platonic_ forehead kiss- it didn't have to mean anything! Sure, he _wanted_ it to mean something, but it didn't!

He wanted it to mean something. Every time he thought about it his heart picked up and he couldn't keep a smile off his face.

He checked the address on his phone and looked up, seeing Quinn waving at him through the window. He had promised to help her with her research project, despite not having any experience on the topic. She assured him that just being there would help her, so he agreed.

It was a little weird that she frequented this place, especially because it’s so far out of her way. It’s nowhere near where she works. The food must be pretty good, he assumes.

He walked inside and sat across from her, nodding in greeting as she closed her computer partially. “Morning, tiger.”

“Mornin’ princess…”

She rolled her eyes. “Someone looks tired today. You doing alright?”

He folded his arms and hid his face, groaning. He mumbled something into his elbow and Quinn rested her hand on his arm. He looked up, cheek squished against his shoulder. “He kissed me.”

Quinn tilted her head. “Oh. Like… How?”

“On the forehead. Before I left.”

“Oh.”

They sat there for a while in silence until a waitress came over. She was tall, and had a short dark haircut. She had a sort of air about her that made her seem very friendly, but it was clear she was a little nervous for some reason. Quinn, however, seemed to soften around the edges when she showed up and Avocato watched them closely as they talked.

“Can I get you two anything else?”

Quinn smiled up at her, but not in the polite professional way he was used to. She seemed more relaxed and… Genuinely happy. “Yeah, uh… Could we get my friend here some ice cream?”

Avocato sat up. “You- you don't have to-”

“Hey,” Quinn took his hands. “You're having a rough day, you deserve it. It's on me.”

He nodded slowly and she looked back up at the waitress, who wrote something down on her little pad and walked off. Quinn let out a sigh.

Avocato smirked. “So… do you know her?”

Quinn pulled her hands back and opened her computer. “Who?”

“The waitress girl you were staring at.”

“I don't know what you're talking about.”

Avocato rolled his eyes. “I'm not dumb. You either already know her, or you'd _like_ to know her. Which is it?”

She exhaled. “Alright, so _maybe_ I think she's pretty. So what? I- I don't know anything about her.”

He leaned in. “Why not ask her out and get to know her better?”

“You- you can’t just-” she stuttered. She huffed. “If I ask her out to lunch, you have to do the same thing with Gary.”

Avocato blushed and shook his head. “No. Even if I know you and Gary aren’t gonna be a thing, if still feels li-”

“Too late.”

The waitress came back with the ice cream and Quinn cleared her throat. “Hey, uh… Would you want to maybe- if you wanted to… Would you like to go out to get dinner? With me? Later?”

The girls eyes widened and her cheeks went red. “I- yes! Sure! My break is in an hour if you wanna- y-yeah!”

Quinn nodded. “Cool.”

She ran off and talked to one of her co-workers, both of them chatting excitedly and looking back at Quinn.

Quinn looked at him and smirked. “So, now you have to ask Gary out.”

He sighed. “Look, it's not that easy…”

“Uh, yeah it is. Just ask him.”

“I _can't_ . He doesn't- he doesn't feel that way about me. _And_ we don't have anyone to watch Little Cato! It doesn't work!”

“Avocato.” She looked into his eyes. “You live with this guy. You sleep in the same bed. You make each other breakfast, and today he kissed you goodbye before you left. You're raising a kid together. You're literally boyfriends without the added benefits, and you're too scared to take him out to a nice dinner.”

Avocato blinked and smiled sardonically. “Yeah, glad we got that cleared up. Because you're forgetting one thing. He doesn't _like me_. I'm his friend- and I already feel guilty for sharing a bed with him. It… It feels like I’m lying to him. Like I'm messed up for feeling like I do and still... Being around him. Plus if we do go out, and he turns out to hate me, it'll ruin everything! It... It can't happen.”

Quinn watched as his mood tangibly dropped, his ears flattening against his head. She laughed. “Wow. You are... not as smart as you think you are.”

“Wh- hey!”

“Look, I'm just saying, but if you think Gary doesn't like you, or even has the _capacity_ to hate you, you've gotta start paying better attention. Plain and simple. And hey, once he realizes he has feelings for you he might be more of a decent person around me, so win win.”

Avocato rolled his eyes and took a bite of his ice cream. “Whatever, princess.”

They finished eating and Avocato hitched a ride with her back to the house. She went back to the diner for her date and Avocato went inside.

Gary was asleep on the couch and Little Cato was curled up on top of his chest, arms wrapped over Gary’s shoulders. He felt his chest grow warm and he sighed, grabbing a blanket and draping it over the both of them.

Before he could think twice, he leaned down and pressed a kiss to Gary's forehead.

* * *

 

Gary woke up a few hours later, Avocato sitting on the far end of the couch. Little Cato had woken up and was playing quietly with his block set and a few empty boxes. The kid had made a castle for himself and it was so tall they could hardly see Little Cato’s hair sticking up from below the edges of it.

Gary stretched out and sighed, crawling forward and resting his head on Avocato’s lap. “Hey… When’d you get back…?”

Avocato ran his hand through Gary’s hair. “‘Bout an hour ago. You two were asleep. Was Little Cato good?”

Gary nodded and smiled. “He figured out how to work the TV on his own. Put on some spanish soap opera and then hid the remote. I got pretty into it.”

Avocato laughed and looked down at him. Their eyes met and they both sighed.

“So how was your little adventure? Did you bring back presents?”

Avocato nodded. “I got you some fancy cheesy potatoes.”

Gary cheered quietly and rolled so his face was pressed against Avocato’s stomach. Avocato blushed and continued playing with his hair as Gary rambled on to him about all the things he and Little Cato had done that day.

* * *

 

Quinn shut her apartment door behind her and covered her face. She was wearing a dress for the first time in what felt like a decade (and may very well have been). Tribore had talked her into it.

They had absolutely _lost it_ when she told them she was going on a date with a girl, insisting that they do her makeup and hair and pick her outfit. She had to admit, she looked good. The outfit was simple, just a yellow sundress with some old boots she forgot she owned. She had fun. The girl, who she learned is named Shannon, was really sweet and enthusiastic and they laughed a lot together!

But for now, with her boots clutched in one hand, she flopped onto the couch and took deep breaths. Tribore walked out from the bathroom in a cloud of steam, a towel wrapped around their head and one of Quinn’s nice robes wrapped around their shoulders. Quinn shook her head.

“Remind me again why I gave you a key to my house?”

“Because you looooooove meeeeeeee?”

“Hmm. Maybe.”

Tribore leaned across the back of the sofa, holding their head up on their hands. “So how was she?”

Quinn’s grumpy expression melted into one of happiness and she sighed. “It was nice. I have another date with her next week.”

Tribore clapped for her and she smiled. After a moment she frowned, pursing her lips. Tribore gently nudged her, silently prying for information. “... Hey, Tribore?”

“Yes, Quinn?”

“What do you do if…” She hummed. “If you know how to fix something, but you don't think it’s the right time, and it isn't your business?”

Tribore shrugged. “Wait it out?”

She nodded. “Yeah. I thought so… Now get dressed and watch a movie with me.”

“Only if it's Lilo and Stitch!”

“ _Fine!_ ”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the girl mentioned is Shannon Thunder, AKA the girl tagging along with Tribore in episode 9! I love her


	4. Not A Date pt. 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sorry this one took so long OOF

Gary had pointedly decided to ignore his feelings.

In concept, it seemed incredibly simple. Just don’t think about it. Don’t give into the urge to hold eye contact with him, don’t compliment him as often, don’t touch him as much…

In reality, it was damn near impossible.

It was hard, because Avocato had no _idea_ what he was doing to Gary, and Gary couldn't just _tell_ him, for obvious reasons. Avocato couldn’t have known that he was making Gary feel like that, it wasn’t his fault! But Gary still had to remind himself not to obsess over all the little things Avocato did, all the small things that made him feel like he was falling. The way Avocato smiled at him when he said something nice, the way he laughed at Gary’s jokes no matter how cheesy or bad they were… He didn't want to be mean to Avocato but he was worried that's how it would come off if he pushed the romantic feelings down any further than they were already being shoved. He was having a lot of trouble figuring out the line between _friendly_ and _romantic,_ too. Was it a romantic thing to cook for someone? Was it romantic to watch movies and cuddle together? What was the _limit_?

...Was the forehead kissing thing okay? Because Gary had started doing it more often and Avocato always got this really cute look on his face whenever he did. He would smile and laugh and look up at Gary through his eyelashes and it never failed to make Gary dizzy with… _feelings_.

Avocato had started sleeping in again after going to brunch with Quinn, which Gary still didn’t know about. Gary had also started going shirtless at night again, because it was legally summer and he was allowed to be shirtless as often as he wanted, and also because _maybe_ he just so happened to really really like waking up to Avocato’s hands pressed right near his heart with no barriers between them. It was the most comforting thing in the world to wake up to- how could he resist something like that, he was only mortal!

He could easily play it off as platonic in his mind, though. But there was one tiny problem. There was _always_ one tiny problem, and that always led to everything being a bigger more messed up problem the longer he ignored it- but this one wasn't even his fault and it's not like he could do anything about it!

Gary was starting to have… really vivid dreams.

Really, blatantly, undeniably _romantic_ dreams about Avocato. Downright sappy fantasies of the two of them going on dates and having picnics together and _kissing_ and he always woke up feeling fuzzy at first but unsatisfied and distressed when he realized it wasn’t real. Then that dissatisfaction would move into guilt when he realized he was thinking that way about his best friend, who trusted him and loved him in a totally platonic no-kissing not-dating non-romantic way, and who was more often than not holding him in his arms at that very moment. But Gary still had those dreams and he admittedly did enjoy them while they lasted, lingering in the unrealistic fantasy of him and Avocato being together.

Which was bad. It was really bad! He shouldn’t be thinking like thinking!

Was he going to _stop_ thinking like that? No. But he didn’t like it.

...Maybe he liked it a _little_ , but as long as nobody but Tribore knew about it, nothing had to happen.

After all, it was so _hard_ not to think about Avocato romantically when he was making breakfast or lunch or dinner for him, or when Gary would wake up to Avocato’s leg wrapped around his hip and his hands on Gary’s chest, or when Avocato would hurriedly drag him into the living room to show off something Little Cato had done.

Speaking of Little Cato, he was growing up so _quickly_ , it was incredible!

Avocato had been curled up in the bedroom taking a nap on the bed while Little Cato played with Gary in the other room. Out of nowhere, Gary had rushed in and woken him up, dragging him into the living room.

“What did you want to show me?”

Gary flapped his arms excitedly and grabbed one of Little Cato’s toys from the floor, getting the kids attention and setting the toy on his head. Little Cato mewed and his tail flicked as he carefully started climbing up Gary’s leg, Avocato watching in absolute awe. The toddler got all the way up to Gary’s shoulders, knocking the toy off and nuzzling Gary’s face. They went out for ice cream immediately after, and Gary had started calling him Spidercat.

Avocato was so carefree and happy around Little Cato. His eyes would fill with pride every time the toddler babbled or did anything new that showed how much he was growing up, like he couldn’t believe that this was real. Gary would always pat his shoulder and smile with him, reassuring him that he was safe and grounding him in reality.

And no matter how hard he tried…

Avocato would look up at him from the floor with that stupid smile on his face and Gary's heart would pick up and his head would go foggy and God, he was really in deep, wasn't he?

* * *

 

“Hey, Gary?”

He looked up, sprawled across the floor on his stomach surrounded by papers that all had splatters of multicolored paint on them. Gary and Little Cato were across from each other, both covered in the stuff. “Hey! Me and Spidercat here are making some totally awesome paintings. I’m thinkin’ we can sell some of it online as some really expensive modern art type stuff, I bet we can make a couple hundred bucks off of it. What’s up?”

Avocato smiled to himself and sat down next to them. Little Cato waddled over and climbed in his lap, smudging paint on his jeans as he beeped and babbled, digging his claws into the fabric. Avocato ruffled his fur and picked him up, patting the baby’s back. “We should go out tonight. Just- just the two of us…?”

Gary looked up from the mess of paint covering his hands and the canvas underneath them. There was a streak of bright blue covering part of his cheek and a paw print in muddy green smudged across his forehead and into his hair. It was far too adorable. “Like… Like how do you mean?”

“Like a bar or something. Y’know. Just,” Avocato fidgeted, rocking back and forth nervously, “two dudes. Getting a drink. Together. Tonight, if you’re into it.”

Gary’s face lit up and he nodded, bouncing in place a little bit. “That sounds awesome! Wait- what about Little Cato?”

“Oh, I uh… I asked a friend of mine to watch him. Don't worry, I’ve got everything handled. You need a break, man,” Avocato said, patting his shoulder. "You've been working hard, you deserve it."

Gary laughed, fidgeting with his hands and squishing the paint around, an excited grin on his face. “I haven't really been doing _that_ much, but... That sounds really really fun. What- what time do you wanna leave?”

“Tonight at 8, maybe? Right after Little Cato goes to sleep,” he smiled hopefully.

Gary gave him a happy thumbs up, scratching the back of his neck with his other hand, which was still covered in a mess of paint.

Avocato winced as the color on his fingers streaked across the back and sides of his hair in a thick line of vivid blue-green. Avocato sighed, pointing it out. “Jeez…” He shook his head and carefully sat Little Cato down on the pile of papers, running off and coming back with a baby wipe in his hand. “Hold still for a second.”

Gary froze as Avocato rested a hand on his jaw, tilting his head back as he carefully wiped away the smears of paint on his face. His heart pounded and he shivered at how cold the wipe was and how _close_ Avocato was to him, touching him, his warmth seeping through his skin into Gary’s. It felt _intimate_ , more so than Gary could easily explain. After a minute, Avocato’s hands stilled in his hair, his eyes flicking over Gary’s face like he was considering something. He pulled back with a careful and gentle kiss to Gary’s forehead and Gary let out a shaky breath he hadn't been aware he was holding, smiling nervously as he fought off the buzzing, giddy feeling in his head. “Tha-thanks.”

Avocato balled the wipe up and walked into the kitchen, throwing it in the garbage. “No problem.”

Gary went back to painting as Avocato went about whatever business he was attending to.

Avocato always had a weird fixation on keeping Gary clean, or something like that. Whenever his hair was messy he always ended up fixing it for him, whenever he had something on his face Avocato would drop everything he was doing to clean him up, etc. It was nice, admittedly, Gary enjoyed it. It reminded him that Avocato cared about him.

At the same time, it always made his stomach flutter and his cheeks go red in a way he couldn’t control. It was… Counterproductive. But he didn't want it to stop.

He sighed and started internally planning the rest of his day so that he had time to get ready for their not-date.

Because no matter how badly Gary wanted it to be a date, it wasn’t a date.

* * *

 

Avocato sat down on the cold bathroom floor, tapping his hand quickly against the tile. He did it! He asked Gary on a date. Sure, he almost chickened out and felt like he was about to burst into tears the entire time, but he did it! He had a date! It was, all things considered, technically a date.

He pulled his phone out and quickly texted Quinn, letting her know he upheld his end of the promise that she’d forced him to make. She texted him back surprisingly fast, one of the messages being ‘And it only took you 2 weeks! Well done.’. He opened it and it was just a selfie of her and Shannon kissing with the caption, ‘This could be you and Gary if you weren’t such a scaredy-cat. I’ll be over in about 2 hours!’. He shot her back a picture of his middle finger, then a thank you.

God, he was in deep, wasn’t he? It was just… Two guys going out for drinks. It was _not_ a date, no matter how much he _wanted_ it to be a date. Gary probably wasn’t even into him like that. This was a bad idea, wasn’t it? If Gary found out he had feelings for him he’d get freaked out and never want to see him again. It couldn’t happen, there was no way. It was too risky. He had to call this off, no matter how much Quinn bothered him about it.

Just as he started second guessing himself, Gary knocked on the door. “Hey, what should i wear tonight? Is- are we going somewhere decent or…?”

Avocato cleared his throat, his head clearing along with it. He pushed down his unease. “Just wear whatever. It’s no big deal.”

“Alright, cool! Awesome!”

Avocato sighed as the sound of his footsteps led away from the door. No, Gary wouldn’t do that to him. He was a good person, and if he found out, he’d forget about it, and Avocato would move on. But for now, Avocato promised himself he would ignore his feelings as much as possible and not look too deeply into anything Gary did.

Anything like caring about what to wear, or the implications that he would dress himself up if Avocato asked him to. He would _not_ focus on that, despite the little rush of affection that the idea brought.

He’d stay resolved. No romantic attachment.

He promised himself that much.

* * *

 

Quinn walked around the house, making sure she had everything. They would be able to just relax in the living room, and Avocato said she’d be able to pick Little Cato up whenever it was his bedtime so he’d go right to sleep, but Quinn was still anxious about the whole thing. She’d never been particularly good with kids, but Avocato had reassured her that Little Cato was really calm and well behaved given the chance. She had promised to watch him for the night under the reasoning that it was her fault that they were going, and Avocato stuttered a lot here as he grasped for words that were not _going out_ or _going on a date,_ to get drinks together. It was honestly kind of hilarious.

He usually had so much resolve, so much stone cold badassery about him, that seeing him falling apart over one silly little date was… incredible to watch.

Shannon leaned in the door, a warm smile on her face. “You ready to go?”

Quinn looked up and nodded, triple checking for her keys and her phone and her wallet, confirming she did have everything she needed. “Yeah. Thanks for agreeing to do this with me. I know we’ve only been dating for a few weeks, so I was worried this might be a little… much.”

Shannon laughed and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “You worry too much, Quinn! I love kids! Besides, I kind of owe it to Avocato for giving you the nerve to ask me out.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Fair warning, the guy Avocato is trying to woo has been trying to flirt with me literally since the day we met.”

Shannon laughed. “Who can blame him, you’re beautiful and smart and waaaaay out of everyone else's league.”

Quinn rolled her eyes and pressed their foreheads together. “You’re too good for me… I’d kiss you but I _just_ put on lipstick.”

“Kiss me on the lips so we can be matchy, then!”

She laughed and kissed her, both of them holding each other for a moment before pulling away with a _mwah_ sound. Quinn had a blissful, lovestruck look in her eyes. “Man, how did I get such a smart and beautiful girl to like me?”

“By being even more smart and beautiful than her, and also driving 20 miles out of your way every day to her workplace on the off chance that she might be there.”

“You’re never gonna let me live that one down, are you?”

“Nope, you’re too sweet. I’m gonna remember that story forever. Now let’s go!”

“Fine, fine.”

* * *

 

There was a knock at the door. Gary sat upright and stretched out, right as Avocato quickly ran out of the bedroom and opened it. “Hey.”

Gary barely had the time to process that Avocato had dressed up, like, a lot. Well, not that much, but it was subtle enough that Gary could tell he put a lot of effort into how he looked. He had his denim jacket on and a pair of well worn jeans, along with one of Gary’s t-shirts. He looked really good, and Gary suddenly felt weird about only having thrown on a collared shirt and an old jacket.

Then he noticed that there was a person he wasn’t familiar with in his house. And _then_ he noticed that this stranger had Quinn on her arm, and that they were standing _very_ close together. The girl standing next to Quinn looked up at him and her face lit up. “Hey, wait, Gary? Gary Goodspeed?”

Gary shifted and crossed his arms. “Who wants to know…?”

She laughed. “It’s me, Shannon Thunder! We went to high school together- you sat next to me in algebra for three years! Quinn, why didn’t you tell me this was the guy you were talking about?!”

“Wait, your last name is Goodspeed? Like, as in, John Goodspeed?” Quinn asked, stepping closer.

Gary stepped back, a little overwhelmed. “Um. Hi. Yeah, that’s my dad. Are you guys the ones watching Little Cato tonight?”

“Yep! Is that alright?” Shannon looked at him. Quinn was still in a state of shock after finding out she had been hanging out with the son of one of her biggest idols.

“Yeah, totally! I trust you two,” Gary said, smiling warmly now that he recognized everyone. Avocato let out a sigh of relief.

Shannon leaned in, kissing Quinn quickly before setting her stuff down. Somewhere in Gary’s head, it finally clicked.

“Oh. You two are-   _ohhhhhh…_ ”

Quinn nodded and wrapped her arm around Shannon’s waist, pulling her closer. “Yeah. Been… Two and a half weeks, now?”

Shannon nodded and rested her head on Quinn’s shoulder. Gary smiled, throwing Quinn off. She expected a drastically different reaction.

“That’s great! You two are great for each other!”

Quinn pursed her lips skeptically. “You sure you're alright?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Because you’ve been insisting you’re in love with me for literally several months now. I expected you to be, I dunno, a _little_ upset seeing me with someone else?”

Gary laughed. “Quinn, you’re happy, right?”

She was taken off guard by that, too, but she nodded. “Yeah, of course.”

“Then whyyyyyy would I want anything to get in the way of that? If you’re happier with her, that’s not my business.”

The entire room fell quiet. Shannon pretended to wipe a tear from her cheek. “That… was beautiful.”

Avocato nodded. “Well said, Gary.”

Quinn just stood there blankly. Avocato patted Gary’s back. “Alright, we’re gonna head out. We’ll be back around two, maybe a little later.”

“Cool.”

Gary looked up and cupped his hands around his mouth. “HUE! Me and Avocato are going out tonight!”

“Alright, Gary, I will de-activate the alarms. Have fun on your date.”

Gary and Avocato both froze and blushed. Gary rushed out into the garage with a hasty “Okay thanks bye!”

Quinn winked at Avocato and nodded her head towards the door. “You heard him. Have fun on your _date_.”

“Shut up, Quinn,” he said, despite his smile. “Little Cato has a couple of bottles of milk in the fridge, but he probably won't wake up. Call me if you need anything, alright?”

Shannon gave a thumbs up and Quinn nodded, shoo-ing him out the garage door.

Gary had never returned the helmet he got from Clarence, so he pulled it on and sat on the back of the bike while Avocato started it up. He made a point to keep a fair bit of distance between them, not wanting to tempt his mind to start thinking of this as anything other than a totally platonic friends-only not-date ‘two bros getting drinks to blow off steam and maybe find a hook-up’ type of experience.

“So, where are we going?”

Avocato smirked and looked back at him. “Well, I may have lied about it just being a bar. It’s one of my favorite restaurants. You’ll love it.”

Gary blushed and swallowed nervously. Okay. So maybe this was a… Two bros platonically having a nice sit-down dinner together, alone, at an actual restaurant. Not a date, still, but…

 _Very_ date-like.

“Alright, that’s cool. I can work with that.”

“Great, now grab on.”

Gary hesitated, loosely setting his hands on Avocato’s waist. Avocato revved the bike and Gary jumped, wrapping his arms around Avocato’s chest tightly. Avocato laughed and drove off, the stars twinkling overhead.

 


	5. Not A Date pt. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a successful non-date is accomplished with some interference

The two of them sped down the highway, Gary reluctantly wrapping his arms around Avocato’s chest. The city was so different at night, the lights from all the buildings seeming otherworldly. It reminded Gary of when they met, and he was sucked back into that memory with the rumbling of the engine beneath him. 

He never thought Avocato would be one of the constant things in his life, and in the back of his mind he realized how vague his information about Avocato actually was. He didn't know how Lord Commander had gotten ahold of Little Cato in the first place, or anything about his life before he met Gary. It was all a blur, a mystery, a boy who broke into his house to escape a gang. It was a strange way to meet someone, and when he really got down to thinking about it he didn't know Avocato very well at all. 

But… 

No.

No, he  _ did _ know Avocato. He knew Avocato like the back of his hand, he knew that his favorite foods were steak and french fries, and that he would always get excited about old rock music whenever it played on the radio, and that he snorted if he laughed hard enough. He knew that Avocato was a good person who cared about Gary, and that he lo- _cared about_  Avocato in a way he had never felt before towards anybody. 

It was strange to admit that to himself, but, it was true.

Avocato cared about him, too, but...

But no matter which way he sliced it, there was the lingering fact that Avocato did not feel the same way as he did, and it was best to push the notion that he might out of his head and ignore it. Just for tonight, he wouldn’t let himself dare to dream that Avocato might love him, because he knew it would only end up getting him hurt. Avocato did care about him...

But it wasn't the same.

Avocato eventually turned around a corner and slowed them to a stop in the parking lot of a nice little restaurant. Faded neon script flowed across the side of the building in a language Gary didn't understand. 

Gary took his helmet off with one hand as the engine clicked off and Avocato stretched out. His other hand remained placed firmly on Avocato’s hip, which absolutely did  _ not  _ make the tips of Avocato’s ears go warm.

Avocato climbed off the bike and took Gary’s hand, pulling him off of it as well. Gary stumbled and leaned close to him, smiling despite the nervousness crackling through his body like static. 

“This place seems… Kind of fancy. Are you  _ sure _ I’m not underdressed?”

Avocato took his hand and gently squeezed it. “You look fine, Gary, really.”

Gary blushed and laughed, brushing the feeling off. “Tha- thanks,” he squeezed Avocato’s hand back.

They walked through the door hand in hand, and the first thing that Gary noticed was that gentle music was pouring from the restaurant and the lights were dim and welcoming. He still pushed himself closer to Avocato, noticing the way he walked and held himself like he owned the place. It made him feel powerful in turn, so he stood up straight and looked around. 

This place was for sure a lot fancier than Avocato had made it out to be. He felt out of place, almost, but he bottled the feeling and shook it off. Not a date, he reminded himself.

They approached the alien behind the front counter, a short and thin dreature with dark purple skin and bright green eyes, and Avocato cleared his throat. “We’ve got reservations.” 

( _ He made reservations, that’s very very very date-like, oh no.) _

The alien looked up and rolled their eye. “We don’t take reservations.”

“Just take us to a table for two,” he bit out, glaring at the waiter. Gary looked up at him and tugged on his hand gently, letting him know everything was fine. Avocato looked at Gary and his expression softened in a way that made Gary’s heart flutter.

“Right this way.”

They were led down a hall into a more open area where a number of other people were sitting, the lights slightly dimmer and everything else more… Gary couldn’t find a word for it other than  _ romantic _ , but this was not a date, and there was no romance to be found here, none whatsoever. 

He noticed there was a bar along the wall too, and a few people were sitting and drinking annd chatting amongst themselves.

In the middle of their table there was a candle and a vase with a flower in it, a crystal wine glass sitting next to their menus. Really fancy. Gary chuckled nervously as Avocato pulled his chair out for him, gesturing for him to sit down.

Gary did so, looking up at him with a smile. “Geez, man, what’s with all the gentlemanly bravado today?”

Avocato looked up as he sat in his own chair and seemed to flinch, and if Gary didn’t know any better he’d think Avocato was  _ flustered _ . “Can’t- Can’t a guy be decent?”

“Avocato, three days ago you called me into the kitchen so I could watch you chug an entire bottle of sparkling water while standing on the kitchen table because you saw somebody do it on the internet, and halfway through it you choked and ended up falling off the table on top of me. A week before that you threatened a lady in the grocery store because she tried to take the last jug of milk. I didn’t know you knew  _ how  _ to be a gentleman.”

Avocato laughed as the waiter poured some white wine into their glasses, and while Gary didn’t know much about wine, he did know that it was expensive. 

“Well, you don’t know  _ everything _ about me. I can be a gentleman if the situation calls for it.”

He bit his lip and fiddled with the menu, opening it up and scanning the pages, glancing up at Avocato from behind it. “Does- does this situation call for it?”

Avocato shrugged and took a sip of his wine. “You tell me.”

Gary felt his brain short circuit and his heart burst into flames. 

(This was  _ not _ a date.)

They sat in silence for a moment and Gary realized the menu wasn't in English and he had just been staring blankly at it the entire time, not reading it at all. He decided to just get whatever Avocato ordered. They usually had… Pretty similar taste, and it wouldn't be too expensive.

(This was not a date, he reminded himself.)

Was it a date?

Could he ask? Would that make it weird?

He glanced up. Avocato was looking at him, smiling to himself. Gary bit his lip. “Hey, Avocato…?”

“Yeah?”

He froze up as Avocato’s eyes met his, warmth flooding into his face. He looked back down at his menu, which was basically a laminated page of gibberish. He may as well have been trying to read hieroglyphics. “This- this is… Nice. You really didn’t have to do this.”

Avocato set his menu down and picked up his wine glass, swirling the dark liquid around. “I know I didn't have to- I wanted to. It's not much but…” He looked back up at Gary. “I wanted to thank you. It's the least I can do.”

Gary brushed his hair back away from his face. “I should be thanking  _ you. _ You're… So freakin’  _ nice _ and  _ cool  _ and-”

“Gary.”

Avocato leaned across the table and took Gary's hands in his own. Gary’s mind blanked out and for some reason the first thing he could think of was  _ oh my crap is he gonna propose _ ? Then his rational brain took over and he blushed, going back to avoiding eye contact. 

“Yeah?”

“I'm-”

The waiter stood between them, clearing their throat. “Are you two ready to order your food yet?”

Avocato pulled his hands back and Gary felt like he was drowning. All he could hear was the sound of his heart beating and all he could feel was the warm imprints of Avocato’s hands on his own. 

Avocato ordered something Gary didn't hear and Gary just mumbled, “Yeah, that, me too,” and tried to catch a single coherent thought other than  _ is this actually a date? _

The waiter took their menus and it felt like Gary’s last line of defense had been stripped away. Avocato looked at him and smirked. “Did you order what I got because you couldn’t read the menu?”

Gary took a sip of his wine. “No. I got it because I happen to love… whatever it is we just ordered.”

Avocato laughed, genuinely, freely, and Gary nearly forgot to swallow his wine. Oh, god he was in deep.

Then Avocato said something _completely_ unexpected.

“Does this count as a first date…?”

And Gary choked on his wine. It burned in the back of his throat and he put a hand over his mouth, trying to regain his composure. Avocato flinched and patted his arm from across the table. “Shit- you good?”

“Y-yeah yeah I’m fine. Is- do- do you  _ want _ for this to be a date?”

Avocato looked down at the table, wishing with all his heart that the waiter would show up again and interrupt them and they’d never have to speak of this again. 

“Do  _ you _ want this to be a date?”

Gary looked like a deer in the headlights, opening and closing his mouth and trying desperately to think of a response. He laughed, clearly worried he might say the wrong thing and ruin everything. “Do- are you gonna answer my questions with more questions all night?”

Avocato smiled for a moment, but then the smile faded, and he looked up at Gary with a serious look in his eye.

“Look… I know how you feel about me.”

Okay! Off to a  _ terrible  _ start! Gary felt pure panic overwhelm his mind but he bit it back, not wanting to jump to conclusions. “Okay.”

“And I… I’m pretty sure you know how I feel about you,” he winced, almost apologetically. Gary bit his bottom lip almost hard enough to draw blood. “I-”

Avocato paused. He couldn’t force the words out. He wanted to- he really did, but something was stopping him.  _ Gary doesn’t feel the same way, _ he reminded himself,  _ you’ll scare him off if you tell him you love him. He’ll only get hurt, just like everyone else.  _ He let out a sigh.

“I know we don’t feel the same way about- about each other. But… I don’t want that to come between what we have now, even if it’s… weird. I don’t want things to be weird between us.”

Gary laughed and ran a hand through his hair, giddy with relief. “You- you still would wanna spend time with me? Knowing all that…?”

Avocato looked shocked. “You’re my best friend! I’m not… I’m not gonna let some crush get between that. I shouldn’t have brought it up. Let’s- can we just forget this conversation ever happened?”

Gary nodded. “Gladly. So this Isn’t a date?”

“I guess not,” Avocato said with a smile. Gary raised his glass.

“Alright, then, to the best not-date I’ve ever been on, and to our friendship not being weird!”

Avocato lifted his glass as well and they both drank.

As they had been talking, a few more people filed into the restaurant, including a small gang of people that Gary couldn’t help but eye warily. Then he noticed the diamond shaped tattoos around their arms, and he ducked his head down and bit his bottom lip again. “We have a problem.”

“What’s wrong?” Avocato sat upright, scanning the restaurant. 

“Some  _ people _ I used to know just walked in and if they see me I’m gonna need you to just go with whatever I say to th-”

“Gary?” a gruff voice spoke from behind him.

“Shit,” he turned around in his chair with all the confidence of a gazelle that had been spotted by a lion. “Heyyyy, Derrick! Long time no see, buddy!”

“Where. The  _ hell _ have you  _ been _ ,” he growled, putting a hand on Gary’s bad shoulder and pressing down on it hard enough to make Gary worried he might rip it off again.

“What- whatever do you mean, old chum?” he laughed nervously.

“Don’t pull that crap with me, Gary.”

“Look, if this is about the diamond the Infinity Guard took it when th-”

“This ain’t about the diamond! It’s about you stealing from us!” he slammed his fist on the table, making Gary jump. Derrick opened and closed his hand, the cybernetics it was made of whirring slightly. “You  _ know _ what they do with thieves around here, Gary.”

Gary shivered. 

Derrick looked back at the rest of the people who had walked in as they turned to look at the three of them, muttering things quietly amongst themselves. Gary glanced at Avocato and took a deep breath, swallowing air.

“Me and my  _ boyfriend _ were just leaving, Derrick,” he bit out with as much confidence as he could muster.

Avocato blinked in confusion, blood rushing to his face. Okay, he could work with this. He got up and walked around the table, wedging himself between the two of them. 

“Yeah. I’d appreciate it if you mind your business and  _ back off _ .”

Derrick hummed and nodded his head towards Gary. “So this is what you left me for? Some alien creep?”

Okay, this was new. Lot to unpack there.

“I think that dating a dog turd would be more rewarding than  _ everrrrrr   _ hearing from  _you_ again, actually! So, Avocato here, my handsome badass bounty hunter boyfriend who’s a great cook, a wonderful person, and who cares about me  _ very  _ much, is a pretty big upgrade from  _ you _ !”

Derrick glared at Avocato (who was blushing  _heavily_ ) and he panicked, grabbing Gary’s hand and standing up, pulling him closer and muttering a quick  _ sorry _ before kissing him on the cheek just next to his lipsin a way that if you weren’t right next to them, it would have looked real. Derrick was just at an angle to make it believable and he huffed. “You don’t know what he’s like. He’s nothing but a petty thief. He’ll ruin your life and leave like it was nothing.”

Gary stood there and breathed slowly, trying to fight between the urge to burst into tears and the urge to knock this idiot’s teeth out, trying to think of something to say, but Avocato cut him off before he had the chance to speak by grabbing Derrick by the front of his shirt.

“Listen up, smartass. Gary is better than some scumbag like you could  _ ever  _ hope to be. He’s the kindest and most genuine person I’ve ever met, and you’re not worthy to breathe the same air as someone like him. Now get the hell out of this building, or I’ll show you what having your life ruined is  _ really _ like,” he growled, cracking his knuckles and getting in his face. Derrick stared between them and huffed, looking back at his gang. 

“C’mon, boys. We can find somewhere _nicer_ to drink.”

They stayed standing up as the people all grumbled to each other and headed out. Once the two of them were sure that they were gone and the whispers around the restaurant died down, Gary sat down in his chair and rested his head in his hands.

“Thanks. Sorry.”

Avocato rubbed his shoulders. “It’s okay. I get that. Do you wanna just go back home for the night?”

Gary frowned. “But we didn’t finish dinner…”

“Hey,” Avocato gently held him and Gary melted into the touch, wishing he could have lived pretending to be with Avocato just a little longer. “We can get a to-go box and finish eating at home, watch a movie, all that. I don’t wanna push you. Plus, I'd bet if one of us fake-cries we can get a free dessert out of this whole mess."

Gary sighed and leaned into his touch, nodding. “That- that works."

* * *

The ride home was quiet and serene, almost dream-like. When they got to the house, Quinn and Shannon were cuddling on the couch, an old disney movie playing on the tv as they giggled and chatted with each other, in a world of their own.

A smile crossed Gary’s face, but there was a pang of jealousy in his heart at the sight, for a number of reasons. Half was  _ you’ll never have that with Quinn _ and the other half was  _ you’ll never have that with Avocato _ , and all of it was  _ nobody feels like that about you _ . It sucked.

So he pushed the feeling away, again.

~~ (It didn't quite go away this time.) ~~

“I’m gonna go change clothes. You two can stay the night if you want,” he said, turning to go to the bedroom while Avocato put the food in the fridge.

Avocato sat on the couch next to Shannon and the girls looked at him expectantly. “Soooo…?”

He bit his lip and shook his head. They looked between each other and Shannon wrapped an arm around his shoulder, patting his back. Quinn jokingly booed at him.

He sighed and leaned his head back, closing his eyes. "He just... he doesn't like me like that. We're friends, that's it."

Shannon patted his head, softly shushing him as if he was a cat. He swatted her hand away. "It's  _fine_. It's fine."

* * *

 

He paced back and forth in the bathroom, biting back all the emotions he had been pushing down all night as they threatened to spill over. He tugged on his hair and sat down on the tile, letting it cool his skin.

"Get it together, Gary... They're both  _happy_ , that's all that matters."

He changed quickly, avoiding looking at himself, and psyched himself up to leave the room. After washing his face and brushing his hair to stall for time, he finally felt stable enough to go.

* * *

 

Gary came back in wearing shorts and a t-shirt so big that it reached his knees, sitting down on the couch next to Avocato, a good few inches of couch separating them. Somehow, it felt like a mile, a wall he couldn't bring himself to cross without guilt unless Avocato invited him closer.

“So what are we watching? I don’t think I’ve ever seen this one,” Gary said, grabbing a pillow and wrapping his arms around it. Avocato watched closely, not sure why the action made his stomach hurt.

Shannon made an excited sound, bouncing in her seat a little. “Babe, can I start it over so they can watch it?”

“To be perfectly honest, I was more focused on you the first time we watched it, so go ahead,” Quinn replied, wrapping her arm around Shannon’s shoulder as she rewound the movie. Avocato realized why Gary grabbing the pillow like that made him feel weird.

He looked over at Gary and took a quick breath, stretching out and draping his arm around Gary’s shoulders the same way Quinn had with Shannon.

Gary’s eyes lit up and he smiled, scooting right up against Avocato and resting his head on his chest. 

The movie finished rewinding and Shannon hit play, the four of them happy and warm and wrapped in the people they loved most.

_ “Read the charges...” _

Gary was the first one to drift off to sleep, curled up in Avocato’s arms, while the rest of them got hooked on the movie, Shannon eventually leaning back on Avocato along with Quinn. All in all, it was a good night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah they were watching lilo and stitch and i PROMISE you that avocato cried, just a little (but not too much, he couldnt wake gary up)
> 
> Derrick was the guy chasing after Gary in episode 1 and like....... im surprised nobody else has talked about him?? theres a lotta potential for paralells there.... my city now
> 
> as always, please leave a comment if you liked it, concrit is always appreciated!
> 
> my commissions are still open at $1 = 100 words!! leave a comment or message me on my tumblr @ colacharm if youre interested!!


	6. Planting Hearts In Community Gardens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> IM SORRY THIS TOOK 50 BILLION YEARS FOR ME TO POST IVE HAD WRITERS BLOCK LIKE, CRAZY BAD.... this is my garycatoweek post for today too !! the prompt was domestic life so like. i couldnt NOT write this

Time passed steadily.

Gary hadn’t really noticed how fast Little Cato was growing up. He was so smart, already talking and drawing with him, pointing out facts on tv and loudly demanding things. The kid was really good with technology, turns out, and Gary encouraged him as much as he possibly could. He bought him a little beginners circuitry set and sat down with him for a few hours every day watching him figure out how the various types of light bulbs and wires worked, careful not to let him shock himself or anything like that. He wouldn't be in shcool for another few years, but Gary figured that he would let the kid persue his passions as early as possible. Avocato agreed wholeheartedly with the notion.

Avocato was so _happy_ to see the both of them spending time together. Gary was an amazing role model for Little Cato, happily helping him learn and grow. He was helping teach him how to read, too, and was remarkably good at picking out words when left to his own devices. 

“He’s gonna be the coolest kid in school, man,” Avocato ranted, laying across the bed while Gary put his pajama pants on. “He’s gonna be so smart and everyone is gonna  _ love  _ him.”

Gary gave a soft sound of agreement, keeping his mouth shut. He wanted to comment, but he loved seeing that proud smile on Avocato’s face, that sparkle in his eye that gave him butterflies every single time.

He worried about it, but he’d rather help Little Cato work through being stronger than anyone who would be intimidated by his intelligence than try and snuff the embers of his growing mind. 

“Yeah. My dad always encouraged me to go after anything I was interested in. He took me book shopping for me for outside of school stuff every few weeks. I wanna do something like that with Little Cato- let him learn about the stuff he’s actually  _ into  _ on his own so that he doesn’t get overwhelmed with the school stuff.”

Avocato blinked and sat up as Gary sat down next to him. “Your dad sounds like a really cool guy.”

Gary tensed up. “Yeah. Yeah, he-... Yeah.”

“I’d love to meet him someday, if you wanted.”

Gary laughed, breathless, and looked down at his lap. “I- as much as I would love that… He’s… He’s not around anymore.”

Avocato pressed his lips together, wrapping an arm around Gary’s shoulders. “Jeez, man, sorry…”

Gary looked down at Avocato’s legs and rested his head on his chest. “It’s alright. I just… I want Little Cato to have the kind of life I had, y’know? Because he’s actually  _ smart _ , he’s gonna be… Amazing.”

“Wait,” Avocato paused, looking down at him. “You’re smart.”

Gary laughed, genuinely. “Avocato, I’m like, the dumbest person alive. I got arrested for blowing up an entire parking lot because I had a ten minute crush on a pretty girl.”

Avocato laughed with him, nuzzling the top of his head and pulling him closer. “But that wasn’t dumb, that was just… Bad luck. You’re one of the smartest people I know. And to be fair, Quinn  _ is  _ really pretty.”

Gary smirked and looked up at him, rolling onto his stomach and burying his face in Avocato’s chest. “Do you liiiiiiike her?”

“Gary, I’m gay. And I’m pretty sure Quinn is too.”

He sat up a little, turning to look at Avocato. “Wait, you are? How did I not know that?”

Avocato shrugged. “You never asked?”

“....huh. I-I mean, I’m bi, if you hadn’t figured that out. I like my men like I like my women and also the same way that I like my people who aren’t either of those,” he gave Avocato finger guns. Avocato laughed and put his hands behind his head, letting Gary rest his head on his chest and listen to his heartbeat.

“I figured. We cool?”

“We’re totally cool.”

“Alright. G’night, Gary.”

“Night, Avo…”

* * *

Avocato carefully sat down, double checking the bench to make sure he wasn’t sitting on any bugs or dirt. Gary stood in the middle of the backyard, absolutely covered in bees and butterflies, slowly and gracefully flitting from surface to surface, decorating his hair like jewels in the early morning light. He rested his head in his hands as Gary rambled on about the various bugs he had crawling on him.

“This is a monarch butterfly, they're so pretty and cool! These are third generation because it’s July, so their grandparents were the ones who first laid their eggs here way back in March.”

Avocato hung onto his every word, not noticing that one of the butterflies had landed on top of his head and was slowly crawling down the strip of white fur down his face, pausing over the bridge of his nose and sunning itself, opening its fiery orange wings and taking in the warmth. Gary gasped softly and giggled like a child, slowly walking over and cupping Avocato’s cheek. He held out his other hand to let the little creature crawl onto his wrist, slowly making its way up his arm and onto his own cheek. He kept his hand there against Avocato, awestruck by the butterfly, not noticing the way Avocato looked at him like he was the most beautiful thing in the universe.

The butterfly made its way onto Gary’s forehead.

Avocato felt his chest tighten as Gary looked him in the eyes and smiled, the butterfly crawling up into his hair to join the others that sat up there, opening and closing their wings. 

Gary sat down next to him and took his hand, lacing their fingers together and squeezing lightly. Avocato squeezed back and looked at him, resting his head on Gary’s shoulder. 

“I had a little lunar moth caterpillar that I raised when I was a kid. His name was Mooncake. I carried him everywhere with me. Got into a fight with a teacher over it, too.”

“That sounds like something you’d do,” Avocato said quietly, without looking up from their intertwined hands. 

“Hey, the tomatoes are practically ripe by now. You wanna go wake Little Cato up so he can help me pick em? We can make use them to make spaghetti for dinner.”

Avocato grinned. “That sounds great, man.”

They went inside, careful to get all the butterflies out of Gary’s hair and back onto the plants.

“Ooh, I think we can pick some of the lavender soon, too! Been wanting to make some new tea with that.” 

Avocato just nodded along.

* * *

Little Cato and Gary were drawing together, Gary doing a detailed study of one of the butterflies that had accidentally made its way into a light bulb outside and met its tragic end. Little Cato had been very secretive about his project, but he kept glancing up at Gary, then back down at his sheet of blank printer paper, then back up at Gary. He kept his marker tightly clutched in his little fist, his tongue poking out of the corner of his mouth. 

“Gare Gare Gare!”

Gary looked up at him, smiling brightly. He set his pencil down. “You done with your drawing? Lemme see it!”

Little Cato proudly picked up the paper, turning it around to show Gary.

It was a pretty good drawing, as far as artwork made by a 2 and a half year old kid goes. It was pretty clearly a drawing of Gary, Avocato, and him, all holding hands. 

“It’s me and- and my dads, that’s you and dad!”

Gary felt his heart stop. “You- you see me as-... I’m a dad to you?”

Little Cato nodded emphatically, patting his paws on the table. “You’re Gare! A second dad. I have,” he carefully held up two fingers, “ _ two _ dads.”

Gary took a deep breath, smiling so hard it hurt his face. “Jeez- I love ya, kiddo.”

“I love you too!"

They hung the drawing on the fridge, framing it in little alphabet shaped magnets.

* * *

 

__

_ The sun was high in the sky, warm and inviting. Gary sat outside a building, his hands resting woven into the soft grass, the breeze carrying cottonwood seeds like fairies bobbing up and down on its current. _

_ Avocato sat next to him, a warm and safe presence, like the clouds and the earth and the warmth from the dirt beneath his hands. Constant and real and promising safety and freedom. _

(a gentle tapping, the world being pulled to the side)

_ Avocato brushed his hand over Gary’s knuckles and suddenly it was night, every star sparkling in the sky at once, and Avocato leaned closer as their fingers intertwined. He willed himself to move forward, so close he could feel the subtle warmth radiating off of Avocato’s face, and- _

(a heavy weight on his chest, pushing)

And Gary woke up to a pair of wide green eyes staring back into his, tiny hands on either side of his face. He grumbled and wrapped his arms around Little Cato, pulling him down to bed with a groan. 

“Nope. Too early. I’m sleepin.”

“No!!!” he whined, trying to wiggle out of Gary’s grasp.

“Yes,” Avocato and Gary said in unison. Gary rolled over, bringing Little Cato to sit in between him and his father. Little Cato batted at Gary’s hair, swatting at his face. 

“Up!! We gotta get up! Park!”

“Hey, Little Cato, what day of the week is it?”

The toddler patted the bed in thought, his tail flicking back and forth. “Tuesday!”

“Nope! Guess again,” Gary encouraged, propping his head up on his elbow.

“ _ Tuesday, _ ” he repeated, wiggling back and forth. Gary laughed warmly, picking up the kid and holding him close to his chest. Little Cato mewed and hugged him, nuzzling his face. 

“Gary, I’m... not sure he  _ knows  _ any of the other days of the week just yet,” Avocato grumbled, smiling up at his roommate and son. 

Gary pursed his lips and puffed air out of his nose. “Oh, yeah. Crap.”

Little Cato very seriously pawed at Gary’s cheek, looking him in the eyes and just slightly pressing his claws into his skin. He spoke with extreme urgency. “Today, we’re gonna go to the  _ park _ . And- and I’m gonna swing. But not now. Later.”

Gary hummed and nodded with the same level of severity, patting the little tuft of fur on the top of Little Cato’s head. Little Cato squeaked merrily, leaning into his hand and flicking his tail back and forth.

Avocato sighed and slid his arm under Gary’s chest, pulling them both closer together. Gary’s eyes lit up as he was tugged forward, a sleepy grin finding its way onto his face. Avocato kissed his forehead, and for a moment Gary let himself fall into the dream he was having before, a heavy sigh escaping his lips. Little Cato growled and playfully pounced between them, wedging his tiny body between both of them. “Wake up!!! Stop sleeping! All you do is  _ sleep _ all day all the time!”

Gary shushed him, patting his whole face. “I can’t hear ya, thundercat, I’m sleeping… Snnnoooore…”

“ _ No!!!!!!! _ Wake up wake up wake  _ up _ !!!!”

Gary groaned and sat up while Avocato got out of bed, heading into the bathroom to get ready for the day. Little Cato happily climbed on top of Gary’s lap and pawed at his hair, grinning and wiggling his tail back and forth.

Gary just sat there and smiled, letting him go about his business. 

“Gary. I have some important news to share with you,” HUE’s voice came over the intercom. Gary looked up.

“Can it wait, HUE, I’m a little busy.”

Little Cato kept swatting at him, climbing up onto his shoulders and nuzzling his cheeks and his neck. 

HUE started counting down from ten. Everyone froze. 

“HUE?”

“7.”   
“HUE, why are you counting?”   
“6.”   
“ _ HUE,  _ this isn’t funny, why are you COUNTING at me?”

“5.”   
Avocato was leaning on the bathroom counter laughing loudly at Gary’s panic and Little Cato began counting along, out loud. 

“Zero. Gary, your house arrest sentence is officially over.”

Gary froze. He blinked, looking at his hands. “I- I can go out whenever I want now?”

“That’s right, Gary.”

He laughed, breathlessly, then turned to look up at Avocato with a wildly excited look in his eyes. “Pack your stuff, I’ve been waiting  _ ages _ for this!”

Avocato felt a brief flash of panic, but smiled nonetheless, ready for whatever Gary had to throw at him.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please leave a comment if you liked this!! :DDD  
> please tell me what youd be interested in seeing in later chapters!


	7. on the road

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gary takes the gang on an adventure somewhere important.

 

The highway was  dimly lit in a way that brought memories back bubbling to the surface of his mind. It was  otherworldly , and he still felt awe seeping into every fiber of his being.

They had all pitched in to rent a convertible so they could put a kids seat in the back of the car, Little Cato loving the feeling of wind in his whiskers . The drive would be long, but Gary was willing to push through it, no matter what he had to deal with.

He had wanted to make this trip for years, but he never could because it was too far for him to go without setting the alarms off .  It was a 22 hour drive halfway across the country to his father's memorial and he was more than willing to make the journey .

He  desperately needed the closure. He needed to see the proof for himself.

Because no matter how many people had told him over and over again that his dad was really truly completely and entirely dead, no matter how often people drilled it into his mind that he would never see his father again, he still found himself wondering when he would come home, wondering when he would stop hiding and come back .

And it hurt worse every single time he had to remind himself that it wouldn't happen, every time he had to stop and tell himself  wait, no, that’s wrong .

He wanted to move on, to live for himself without wondering what his dad would think of where he is now, if he would see Gary as a dissapointment or a pride .

He wanted to only concern himself with his own happiness for a change.

Avocato sat with his head resting on the window, mouthing along to one of the CD’s Gary had made for the trip. He had a taste for late 2010’s pop hits, most of them upbeat songs about self love and the rest of them gentle love songs.

Shannon and Quinn also managed to tag along, Quinn laying across Shannon's lap in the back seat, sound asleep while Shannon nodded to the music .

Time passed around them as they chatted amongst themselves between comfortable pauses, small conversations blooming and drifting off .

“So,” Avocato said, turning around to look at Shannon. “What's your deal?”

Shannon shrugged. “What do ya mean?”

“I mean what do you do? Where are you from? What's your story?”

She smiled. “Well, I grew up in the same town as Gary.  I went to flight school, but, surprise surprise, not a lot of jobs out there for a professional pilot outside the Infinity Guard, so, I work at the cafe to pay rent . You know how it is.”

Avocato nodded and the silence returned to fill the space between them like quick drying cement .

“So you don't trust the Infinity Guard either?” Gary spoke, cautious.

She laughed, but there was a bitterness to it that filled Gary with a sense of validation. “Not since I was a kid. I don't trust any company who makes superweapons and then fires people who don’t want to be a part of that. Also they underpay the crap out of their employees.”

Gary made a sound of agreement and Avocato gave a thumbs up, nodding in approval.

A few hours passed. Gary stopped paying attention after the third hour ticked away.

They almost always drove in silence, leaving Gary alone with his thoughts as the sunset left a dreamy haze across the five of them .  Gary kept stealing glances back at them, at Avocato, at Quinn, at Little Cato in his carseat and at the trees letting light dance across them like stained glass .

Man, he thought to himself,  this freakin’ rules. I’ve got people I trust on all sides, a sick ride and the coolest family in th- Huh.

Family .

Something about that, about the entire concept of that, set off alarms in his head, and he couldn't exactly pin why. It left a shaky feeling in his head and his stomach, leaving the back of his throat dry and scratchy.

Family. What was so wrong with that concept in his mind? What was his subconscious not telling him?

When Gary pictured a family, he pictured a mom and a dad and their kid.

He-

Oh.

He pictured himself, his mom, and…

And his dad.

...Crap.

He could feel his heart pounding like a cursed drum in his chest, making his breath short and his vision seem to dull. The world was spinning, he felt like he was  physically falling and he was about to be sick, or crash the car, or something. He couldn’t hear the sound of the car moving anymore. The radio felt grating rather than comforting. Everything was too much and not enough all at once, in the worst possible way. He felt like he was outgrowing his own  skin, like he was being ripped apart from the inside out. His left arm started to go numb again.

Where’s Tribore when you need them? (Tribore had a training seminar that week.)

He took a deep breath and steadied his grip on the steering wheel, pulling over to the side of the road and stopping. He pulled the keys out, stopping the car completely. The music shut off.

The heavy silence settled in like a horrible chill in their bones.

Avocato spoke up, soft and careful. “You okay, man?”

Gary took a shaky breath, nodding and biting down hard on his lower lip. “Yeah- yeah I’m good! I’m… fine.”

Shannon hummed, leaning over and looking at Gary. She put a hand on his shoulder and Gary jumped back away from her touch. She winced and jostled Quinn, making her mumble something as she sat up and stretched. “Why are we stopped..?” Gary kept ahold of the steering wheel, staring straight ahead. His knuckles turned white and- Crack. The part of the steering wheel under his robot hand snapped together like it was nothing stronger than a soda can. Gary didn’t seem to notice. Avocato was getting really worried. A car sped past.

Little Cato stirred in his sleep, making a small gasping noise before whining  loudly , growling a little .  Gary seemed to come to his senses at the sound of Little Cato in distress, blinking, shaking his head as the toddler calmed down and went back to sleep, chewing on his paws .

He let go of the steering wheel, running his hands through his hair.

“Can… can someone else drive for a while?  I think I need a minute or something.”

Shannon, Avocato and Quinn all moved to unbuckle their seatbelts at the same time, stopping and staring at each other, trying to work out who was gonna drive,  silently looking each other over . Gary took slow, deep breaths, feeling the tensions rise.

“...Unless you guys  just wanna stay around here for the night,  maybe …?  There's a- hang on  just a second…” he trailed off, blinking  quickly before, after a few tries at grabbing it, picking his phone off of the dashboard and moving forward on the map . He turned to show it to the others. “There’s a little motel about 3 miles away, I can make that and we can rest for the night if- if that’s… okay with you guys.”

They all nodded, pulling their hands  slowly away from their seat belt buckles.

Gary started the car again, wincing at the sudden sound of the engine rumbling to life.

The last few miles to the motel were quiet and  extremely slow.  The road was otherwise empty, the radio still  being turned off after restarting the car leaving that same silence thick in the air .

Avocato reached over and put a gentle hand on Gary’s thigh.

Gary’s senses  slowly dripped back to him, starting with the warmth of Avocato’s hands through his gloves and finishing with the sound of his turn signal blinking as he pulled into the front parking lot of the motel . Quinn stretched out again, her back popping  uncomfortably . “You want me to go in and get us our rooms?”

Gary blinked  slowly , then smiled  sheepishly once he processed what she had said. “I- yeah, lemme get some cash out..” Quinn shook her head. “Nah, it’s fine. Tribore owes me about a hundred bucks, I’ll  just call in that favor. You want me to find a local place to eat dinner once we get settled in for the night?”

Gary shrugged, too out of it to argue with her.

He was far too out of it to notice the pointed look she gave Avocato as an idea hatched in her head.

After she disappeared into the building, Avocato reached up and wrapped an arm around Gary’s shoulders,  lightly , as if he would shatter into a million tiny little pieces if he so much as breathed on him too hard .  Gary relaxed back into his touch, pausing before reaching back and pulling his arm around to the front of his body, hugging it close to his chest and taking in his warmth as much as he could .

Quinn came walking out of the building a few minutes later, her phone and two sets of room keys in her hand. Avocato pulled away as Gary leaned forward to listen to her talk. “We almost got rooms next to each other, but there’s one empty one stuck  in between us.” Gary held out his fist as she approached, and she stopped, staring at him. She tilted her head, trying to figure out what he was-

Oh, duh. She gave him a fist bump and he lit up like a christmas tree, bouncing in his seat  just a little. Avocato smiled and rolled his eyes.

“He’s like, an excited dog,” Shannon muttered as they all got out of the car, making Quinn nod and snort under her breath.

Gary laughed  softly , sitting on the window-edge of the car. “Am I a cute dog?” She smiled and ruffled his hair, letting him close his eyes and lean into it. “Very.”

He lit up even more, every trace of his earlier mood lapse gone. Avocato got out of the car and stretched out, making a very catlike noise. Little Cato was still  mostly asleep, babbling a little bit now and then.

They unhooked the carseat and took him over to the door Quinn said was theirs. She gave Avocato their room key and winked at him as she passed it over to him.

He gave her a flat look in return.

He opened the door, not sure what to expect with how weird Quinn had been acting.

…

There were two seperate beds.

Huh.

“I got Shannon and I a single and you two a double, that work for you two?”

Gary had already walked into the room and jumped up onto one of the beds, bouncing across the gap  in between them with a look of complete and utter bliss on his face .

Avocato set Little Cato down, still in his carseat, closing the door so Gary was out of earshot.  He squinted at Quinn, who stood staring  smugly at him while Shannon leaned on her, scrolling through both her and Quinn’s phones at the same time .

Avocato blinked at Quinn.

“So?” “So?”

Avocato gestured  vaguely . “What’s your plan?”

“What plan?”

“Cut the crap, Quinn, you’ve been acting weird since Gary mentioned a motel, what’s the deal?”

Quinn leaned closer to Shannon, wrapping an arm around her waist.  “I’m  just looking forward to a night alone with my  girlfriend , alone in a hotel room, sharing a bed,” Shannon looked up and kissed her cheek . “Which you will  not be doing with your  not boyfriend, right? I wouldn’t want you two to have to share a bed when you don't need to, after all.”

Avocato blinked.

Hang on.  Oh, hang on.

When was the last time he slept alone?

When was the last time he fell asleep  without Gary there?

He looked in the doorway a little at Gary, still hopping around the beds, laughing with that bright sunshiney look on his face . He felt his heart beat faster.

…Crap!

“You suck.”

“You’ll thank me later,” she said as they turned and walked off, Shannon still typing away on their phones.

“No I won’t!”

Quinn put a middle finger up as they walked away.

Avocato took a deep breath, shaking off any nervousness he felt as he walked into the room and closed the door behind them, pressing his back to it . His tail twitched  nervously .

“Which bed do you want…?”

Gary slowed his leaps and flopped down onto the bed closest to the door.  It seemed like he  just noticed that, yes there were  two beds, there was no excuse- reason, not excuse, to sleep with Avocato like always .

Crap, indeed.

“Uh… I’ll take this one you take the other one…?”

“Works for me,” Avocato said, lying, refusing to look at Gary’s expression, trying to push down the odd feeling in his chest . He wanted to get this over with, to deal with it without dealing with it.

Gary shifted.

“It’s weird that we’re both so used to sharing a bed, y’know? Like it feels weird to- to not…. Be. Sharing a bed.”

Avocato looked up, silent as he sat down on the other mattress, taking a deep breath and releasing a long, slow sigh. He smiled, but there was a strange hollowness behind it that made Gary feel weird. “Yeah.”

He offered no elaboration.

Gary squirmed.

He decided,  quickly , that he hated this, actually!

There was a knock at the door and Gary  practically lept up to answer it.

Shannon stood up on the other side of the door, wearing a pair of overalls and a crop top now instead of her usual outfit. “Hey, I found a little store nearby.  It’s like, a ten minute walk tops, Quinn and I were gonna head down there and get stuff to make dinner with ‘cus I saw a fire pit around back and wanna cook some stuff on a fire . You in?”

Gary nodded, putting on a fake smile. “Yeah, we’ll be out in a few minutes,  just wait for us by the car!”

He closed the door and slid with his back up against it, closing his eyes. Avocato was already up and ready to go, running his hands over his fur and checking himself in the mirror. Gary  carefully looked up at him, not sure why Avocato seemed so much more cold than usual.

He frowned, chewing the inside of his cheeks.

“Avocato?”

“Hmm?”

“Why are you so… Stressed?”

Avocato kept his eyes fixed on the sink, facing away from Gary. “I’m fine, Gary,” he lied, pulling his jacket off and setting it on the bed.  He turned back around to find Gary only a few inches from his face, so close he could feel the warmth radiating off his cheeks .

“You  really aren’t. You’ve been quieter and more… freaked out since we got here.”

“You’re overthinking it, man.”

“Am not! You won’t even look at me when I talk! Something’s up with you and we’re not going anywhere until you tell me what’s wrong,” he said, a determined look in his eyes. He wrapped his arms around Avocato’s waist, pulling him as close as he could.

Avocato felt his chest tighten as Gary touched him, the air leaving his body like a ghost scared off by the love rushing into him .

“Is- is it about the beds thing? You don’t have to sleep alone if you don’t want to. I don’t know if I’d be able to sleep without… Without you. Anymore. And I should stop talking before I embarrass myself more, whoops!”

Avocato laughed and returned the hug, finally, swaying  gently with only the sound of the old lights buzzing filling the air . He  carefully slid his fingers through Gary’s hair, pushing it back and kissing his forehead.  Gary felt the same warm bubbly sensation roll through his body as always, making him smile and sway a little more with Avocato in his arms .

“Works for me,” said Avocato, quiet enough that it felt like a secret. Gary felt dizzy.

“Cool… Cool. Can we take the bed away from the window? I can’t sleep if I can see outside.”

Avocato didn’t move at all, keeping Gary close and in his arms, taking in his warmth and his smell and everything about him,  subconsciously nuzzling against Gary’s shoulder . “Sure, sure…”

Gary smiled and took Avocato’s hands, twisting around and pulling him towards the door.

“Still need you to grab Little Cato, then we can go get stuff to set on fire. Sound good, babe?”

Both of them paused at Gary  casually using the pet name, but neither said anything about it.

“Yeah, cool,” Avocato said as he unbuckled Little Cato from the carseat and picked him up, holding him close to his chest . “You ready to go?”

Gary nodded  slowly , his eyes drawn to the jacket laying discarded on the bed. He picked it up. “It cool if I borrow your jacket? Mine’s still in my bag.” Avocato didn’t  really know why that made him so flustered.

“Go ahead.”

Gary grinned and pulled it on. It looked…  way too big for him.

It was adorable.

...Avocato  was doomed , wasn't he?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG.... i have adhd and no other excuse  
> please PLEASE PLEASE comment i need the validation to get me through the next chapter too just feel free to spam me with comments go go go  
> https://colacharm.tumblr.com/


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Road Trip

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i promise this update didnt take 2 months to update .....I promise it was worth it!!

“S'mores! S’MORES! S’MORES!” 

“You're a grown man,Gary, we are in public,” Quinn hissed, trying to stifle her laughter. 

“S’MORES! S’MORES! S’MORES,” Gary chanted, bouncing in place. He began gesturing to the bags of marshmallows on the shelf in front of them. Little Cato giggled and jumped around his legs, a twinkle in his eyes as he joined in the chanting.

Gary loved the warm fondness that swept over him whenever Little Cato did stuff like that- copying him or supporting him. He reached down and picked the toddler up, seating him on his shoulders for a clearer view of the room. The cashier was beyond caring, but Quinn’s need to be ‘socially acceptable’ outweighed her ability to have fun. 

A classic struggle of unstoppable force (Gary’s need for sweet treats) versus immovable object  (Quinn’s polite refusal to make a scene when it isn't necessary).

“Fine. Get the marshmallows, but you’re paying for them.”

Gary gasped and flapped his arms for a moment. “Wait- I have money! I’m an adult! I can get my own marshmallows!”

Quinn nodded and put a hand on his shoulder. “You sure can, Gary.”

He was grinning like a kid in a candy store, with Little Cato squishing his cheeks together and kicking his legs a little. Gary grabbed three jumbo bags of marshmallows and two family sized packages of Oreo cookies. He set them down on the checkout counter and ran back off again, making sure to keep a hold on Little Cato as he grabbed a jar of peanut butter.

Avocato walked up behind Quinn with a slushie in his hand, looking at Gary with barely contained fondness behind his eyes. “What is he doing?”

“Bold of you to assume even he knows,” she replied, leaning on him a bit. Shannon was out in front of the store looking at all the movies in the Redbox machine. Quinn looked out at her and sighed. “So how’s it going with you and Gary?”

Avocato shrugged, taking a slow drink of his slushie. “We’re fine.”

“Yeah?”

He blinked, looking at the ground instead of watching Gary try to carry all the things he wanted to buy as they piled up in his arms. “Yep,” he breathed, as stale as the donuts and other pastries sitting in the display cases lining the back wall. Gary eyed them with a hedonistic grin.

“You should ask him out.”

“No.”

“He’d say yes. I’m not exactly a love expert, but I’m pretty sure agreeing to share a bed and also raising a kid together isn’t something people do as platonic buddies.”

“Well, you don’t know Gary like I do.”

“Maybe you’re so caught up in denying that he loves you that you’ve been ignoring signs that he does.”

Avocato didn’t respond for a long while. 

“I... It’s hard.“

He did not elaborate.

The two of them sat in near silence, aside from the buzzing of the cheap fluorescent lights and the sound of Gary tripping over himself and then proceeding to shout “CRAP!” as loud as his voice would allow him.

Avocato let a smile cross his face and pushed off from the wall, walking over and crouching on the floor in front of Gary. “Hey, hotshot.”

Gary looked up and propped his head up on his hands, struggling at first. “Hey- hi. Hello.”

Avocato picked up a bag of marshmallows and placed them onto Gary’s head, failing to notice how red his cheeks were. “Let’s head back and actually make these things, alright?”

“Yeah- that sounds good to me. Yeah,” he stammered. He pulled himself back up while trying to balance the bag of marshmallows on his head. Avocato stood up with him, putting a hand on his forearm. Gary noticed he wasn’t wearing his gloves, which was strange. He noticed that Avocato’s fur was stark white from the wrist down. 

Avocato pulled on his arm a little bit. Gary was hyper-aware of the little pinpricks of claws poking through his fingertips. He followed Avocato’s lead, a little dizzy. 

The bell above the door chimed to signal it opening. Shannon waved a disc around. “I GOT SHREK 12!”

The rest of them cheered.

-

Somehow, they managed to check out and get back to the motel in one piece. There was a fire pit where paying motel guests could barbeque, and where local delinquent teens would burn garbage. Gary thought it was perfect to start a little bonfire to roast their marshmallows on. 

The air was cool and the sun was going down. Before very long, they had a small stack of wood in the middle of the fire pit and Gary was sitting perched over it with a lighter. He had been trying to light it for a good few minutes with no luck.

Avocato walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. That was all Gary needed to freeze and look up, backing away from the pile of wood. Avocato looked up.

“Gary, grab me a handful of leaves and set ‘em under the main log. Then bring me a twig.”

Gary did as he was told, standing back. Avocato reached into his pocket and grabbed a small bottle, pouring it over the wood and the setting it on fire. There was a  _ puff _ and the entire thing began slowly catching. He handed the lighter back to Gary.

“Everclear. Real low flash point. Y’know,” he shrugged, putting his hands in his pockets and leaning back on his heels. Gary nodded, as if he did know. (He did not know, actually.)

After a minute they had a steady fire going. Quinn went and pulled some beach towels out of the trunk of the car, spreading them out on the ground to sit on while they roasted marshmallows. After about an hour they all ended up drifting close together, touching each other and existing far closer than a personal space bubble should extend.

None of them really seemed to mind, though, trading marshmallows as they cooked them. Gary and Shannon liked theirs soft and gold, while Avocato and Quinn liked them burnt and crispy, but Quinn was the only one who could cook them the way Gary and Shannon liked. They eventually worked out a system for it while Little Cato munched on graham crackers and sat in Avocato’s lap.

The sun was well below the horizon, the world quieting down for the night. The soft crackling of the fire filled in the gaps between bugs humming, an orchestra of sound. Gary leaned up against Avocato’s shoulder to watch the flames curl around his marshmallow, singeing the outside. He didn’t really notice how Avocato was looking at him- couldn’t feel the warmth stirring in Avocato’s chest when he shifted to get closer.

He couldn’t feel the rush of nervous affection as Avocato wrapped his arm around Gary’s shoulder, scooting towards him so that their hips were touching. Gary didn’t dare look back, like Orpheus leading Eurydice from the underworld, just trusting that he was there, that he didn’t mind what was happening. 

But he did look back, and for a fraction of a second his eyes met Avocato’s, swimming and dizzy with affection, before he quickly snapped his gaze back into the flames, heart pounding. He closed his eyes, finally and let out a breath he hadn’t meant to hold so long, in a desperate attempt to calm the butterflies in his stomach. He shrugged his shoulders closer to his head, trying to hide his blushing face in the mass of Avocato’s old bomber jacket.

Little Cato yawned and sat between them, resting his head in the small dip between their legs.

They stayed like that until the coat hanger in Gary’s hand got too hot, and the marshmallow he had forgotten about dripped into a sad, bubbling pile on the logs. He sighed and sat up, noticing the way Avocato flinched as he moved away, unsure what to make of that movement. 

“I think it’s about time for ol’ Gary to hit the hay… I’m about to fall asleep out here.” 

Avocato’s ears twitched and he quickly scooped his son up into his arms, getting to his feet. “I’m gonna go with him.”

Little Cato whined, kicking and huffing. “No!!! I wanna stay outside!”

“We can watch him until he gets tired, if you want,” Shannon perked up. Avocato sighed and shot her a grateful look, letting Little Cato jump out of his arms and onto the ground, rolling around and reaching for some marshmallows. He didn’t like to eat them, he just liked to watch them burn.

“Hey, we could keep him for the night, if you wanted! Do you wanna have a sleepover with your aunts?”

Little Cato cheered and Quinn shot Avocato a look. Avocato pouted, pushing down his nerves. “Alright.”

Quinn waved at them while Shannon helped Little Cato get one of his smoking, burnt marshmallows off a stick and onto a cracker.

* * *

 

Gary fumbled in his pockets for the room key, dropping it once he actually found it. He wasn’t alone with Avocato very often, since they had to watch Little Cato almost all the time. He could feel the heat rushing to his face, trying to clear his head as fast as he could. 

It wasn’t working, why wasn’t it working? 

He stuck the key into the lock for the 3rd time, letting out a shaky breath of relief when it finally opened. He smiled back at Avocato, who was leaning against the building with a half eaten marshmallow in his hand. He smiled lazily, looking out over the empty highway. He looked strange, but as lovely as ever, illuminated only by the cool blue street lamps and the dim, orange light bulb that hung next to their door. 

Gary resented the darkness that filled the room before him, but he walked in anyway, kicking his boots off.

No, he ran in, hurling himself on the bed with a squeaky bounce that launched him some ways into the air. He let that feeling consume him, scrambling to his feet and jumping up and down. Avocato laughed from the door, and the sound was so startling and beautiful that Gary had to pause, letting his legs fold under him as he stared at his roommate. He stopped bouncing, and patted the bed next to him. “C’mon, man.”

“Get your pajamas on first, Gary. I’m not getting into a bed with you while you’re wearing  _ jeans _ .”

Gary let out a loud groan. “I’m telling you, they’re comfortable enough to sleep in!”

“No, they’re not! How do you live like this?” Avocato laughed, walking into the bathroom and grabbing his pajama pants from off the counter. Gary rolled his eyes, getting up and changing into his pajama pants. 

He held Avocato’s jacket in his hands before wrapping his arms tightly around it, pressing his face into the worn fabric. It smelled like him, strange and smoky. Like home.

The bathroom door opened and he jumped, tossing the jacket over the nearest chair. Avocato shut the bathroom door silently behind him.

Gary stared at him. “Hey, listen, I-”

Avocato stepped towards him, making Gary flinch and draw his hands up in front of his face on instinct, before wrapping his arms tightly around Gary’s chest and carrying him to bed. Gary laughed as he was tossed onto the stiff mattress, Avocato pressing his face into his stomach and holding him there. He was warm, more so than usual, and he knew how much Gary liked having his weight pressing down on him. It brought a level of comfort that nothing else seemed to be able to bring.

Gary relaxed and started petting the top of Avocato’s head, warmth filling his chest as Avocato began to purr. Avocato tilted his head up, giving him the same strange, dizzy look from earlier and Gary had no idea how to handle the way his chest tightened and his brain went blank.

“You're really pretty. I- I mean, handsome. Or something. I… like.. You.”

Avocato took a steadying breath. He scooted further up towards Gary’s face. Gary smiled, a little shaky around the edges, the sound of his heart pounding drowning out the white noise of the hotel room. Avocato pressed the top of his head against Gary’s neck, closing his eyes. 

“You’re beautiful.”

Avocato could feel Gary’s breathing pick up, and knowing he had that effect brought his confidence up a little. Truth be told, he was terrified for how this could potentially go. He didn’t want to mess this up. He didn’t want to ruin what they had, which is why they’d kept their mouths shut this entire time. 

But Quinn had put this idea into his head that he should go for it- that he should throw caution to the wind and just.. Try.

So far, he wasn’t quite sure how it was going. He honestly just wanted to get one moment (one  _ last _ moment) with Gary. Just in case things went sour. 

He rolled off of him and sat up, scooting back towards the headboard. 

“Hey, I… wanna talk about something.”

Gary tensed, making the old spring mattress let out a horrible groaning sound. Gary winced. “Yeah?”

Avocato was shaking. That’s never a good sign; when the person who you like is shaking and telling you he wants to talk. That can only mean he’s upset, right?

(This is how Gary rationalized the situation.)

(Poorly.)

“I-...” Avocato wrung his hands together and scooted down the bed so that he was looking at the ceiling. “I’ve never had anyone who cared about me.”

Gary blanked. That wasn’t what he was expecting. He remained silent, prompting his friend to continue.

“It’s kinda weird, having someone looking out for me. Someone who wants me to be safe. And it’s even weirder having someone I want to stay safe for.”

“I’ve spent my whole life putting myself into dumb, dangerous situations, Gary. Either because I wanted the thrill, or I didn’t think I had a choice. But with you?”

He turned his head, looking Gary in the eyes.

“I do have a choice. Every time I see a situation where I could do something stupid, I think about you, and Little Cato, and what we have. I wouldn’t give that up for anything. It’s so stupid- no it isn't stupid, but I feel stupid saying out loud,” he laughed, bringing his hand up to intertwine with Gary’s. “But I love you more than I want to do things like that. I love you so, so damn much, man.”

Gary could tell his whole face was red. He felt like he was on the verge of a panic attack. He bit down hard on his lower lip. 

“Do you get what I'm tryin’ to say?”

“...that I'm your best friend?” 

Avocato's ear twitched. “I'm... in love with you. I have been, for a long, long time.”

Gary froze.

“And I know you don't feel the same way,”

“Wait, huh?”

“But I  _ really  _ needed to actually say it before I-”

“Hold on, back up.”

Avocato looked over at him, ears flat against his head. “ _ Please  _ let me finish.”

Gary sat up. “Why don’t you think I’m in love with you?”

Avocato blinked, sitting up as well. “Because you’re…. Not?”

“...”

Gary laughed. He laughed so hard he had to hold his stomach to keep it from hurting, and he rolled onto his side and up against Avocato. “Oh my god- we’re both so freakin’  _ stupid _ -”

“I know, but  _ hey _ !” Avocato said, catching his breath as he came down from his adrenaline high. Then it all shot right back up again.

Because there were hands on either side of his face and Gary was leaning in, and they were  _ kissing _ . It was quick and chaste and Gary could hardly keep a straight face because he would not stop  _ giggling _ but it left Avocato breathless and blinking back tears. Gary moved his hands from the side of his face to around his waist, hugging him like he was afraid he would disappear. 

“I don’t know  _ HOW _ you haven’t wrapped your head around the fact that I- that I’m in  _ love _ with you,” he said _ in love _ like it was something he wasn’t allowed to say. Like he might get caught. “I know I kinda suck at this stuff but was I really that off?”

“No, not at all. I’m just dense! I thought you were just being nice- God, Gary, you bought me flowers last month-”

Gary started laughing again, wheezing into Avocato’s shoulder. “You’re adorable!”

“I’m a  _ moron _ , Gary Goodspeed, and I am in love with you.”

Gary made a soft squeaking noise. “You’re still gonna be the smart boyfriend, how do you feel about that?”

“ _ Boyfriend? _ ”

Gary paused, leaning back. He adjusted himself to sit in Avocato’s lap, a leg on either side of his hips. “Uh… Isn’t that what’s s’posed to happen? Step up from lifelong best bros just chillin’, platonically, to power boyfriends taking on the world together, romantically?”

Avocato put a hand on the back of Gary’s neck, pulling him in and kissing him. They kissed, staying like that until Avocato toppled backwards into the bed, prompting Gary to pull back and let them both take a breath. Avocato’s hand slid down to the small of his back. Gary leaned into it happily. 

“Boyfriends. Yeah. That good by you?”

“ _ HELL YEAH! _ ”

“Why are you  _ yelling _ ?”

Gary dropped his voice to a whisper, kissing Avocato’s cheek. “I got excited.”

Avocato smiled and wrapped his arms around Gary’s chest, rolling over and spooning him. Gary hugged his arms close, kissing his palms. 

Avocato laughed and rested his head in the crook of Gary’s neck, fitting together like a puzzle piece. “I love youuu…”

“I love  _ you _ !”

“I love you!”

_ “I love you!” _

Gary twisted around and kissed him, and Avocato melted into it, pulling him as close as he could get. 

They parted.

“I love you.”

“I love you too…”

“G’night, babe…”

“...Gnight, Avocato…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE comment if you liked it!! just rant at me, i need the validation. so that i can keep writing. if youre rereading my writing, drop a comment saying so!! if you wanna keep it anonymous, my tumblr is also @colacharm, hit me up there! just PWEASE leave me feedback. even if its shitposty or joking
> 
> a final note because im fucking upset because im JUST looking for some good fic in these trying times: if you write r/pe fic or underage fic youre not allowed near my writing and youre not allowed to enjoy anything i produce because I Personally Hate You. you know who you are. I know who you are. Begone, thot.

**Author's Note:**

> comments are what keep me writing!  
> my commissions are OPEN! if there's something you want to see but dont want to write it yourself, leave me a comment or send me a DM on tumblr! my rate is $1=100 words!


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